A New Life
by transcendantviewer
Summary: What if death was not the end, no matter how justified or necessary? Currently on Hiatus.
1. Back from the Grave

Authors Notes

So, I've been reading fanfictions for a long time now and decided that I should start sharing some of my ideas. This story follows the character of Zero from Borderlands 2 as he continues throughout his business on Pandora with the other vault hunters. I Don't own Borderlands or its characters.

Story Intro.

A New Life

What if death was never a fear that one had to face? What if your death, no matter how justified, was not a means of escape? This story follows the end of Borderlands 2. A Zero x. Guardian Angel fanfiction. Multiple Perspectives. Mature content rating for profanity, graphic themes, and sexual content.

Chapter One.

External Perspective

The five Vault Hunters sat at the Badass Crater Bar in the Badass Crater of Badassitude immediately after murdering Piston mercilously and reaping the benifits of spilling his cowardly blood upon the Vault's entrence. Everyone, save Zero, was enjoying a pint of Rakk Ale with Moxxi in celebration. The silent assassin simply sat, watching his comrades' loud antics and vulgarities. Axton was hitting on Maya and she was laughing off the unnecessary attention while talking with Moxxi. Salvedor and Gaige were sharing stories of their past achievements, desplaying their weapons in a show of bravado. As he sat, Zero began to feel a strange sensation, as though a force was pressing in on his skull. Then a voice pierced the tranquility of the assassin's mind.

"Don't you ever relax, Zero? We're all having a good time, you should join us. Have a drink, loosen up for a while! We all would like to have a noncryptic conversation with you for once..." Maya's voice echoed.

The Haiku Hitman replied swiftly, his default poetry making him difficult to understand. "Get out of my mind/ My thoughts are my own, Maya/ You should have asked first."

Visibly, the siren grimaced, attracting the attention of the others before turning from Zero with an audible frustrated grunt. Zero just looked back down into his hands in silent contemplation.

Soon after, the Vault Hunters heard their echo recorders begin to beep with an incoming message. The sound that resonated from the small devices was as though one of the locals of Pandora had scrounged up an ancient home computer and an old dial-up connection and was sending the noise of the connection process over the echo. All the vault hunters doubled over, clenching their heads, moaning in ear splittinng pain.

"Such an awfle noise/ The sound of a thousand nails/ Scraping dying cats." Zero said as he desplayed a sad face with x's for eyes. The other vault hunters also voiced their discomfort.

"He's right on that one... I build things out'a junk and I wouldn't touch whatever's making that noise..." Gaige said with a pained expression, typing into her mechanized hand to try and clear up the signal, then the staticy noise dissapated.

"...This frequency is insecure... We'll be meeting shortly..." a heavily disguised voice said over the echo before the signal died off.

"Such a strange event/ Wonder who that could have been/ Rest of you here that?" Zero asked, desplaying a question mark.

"Wait... What?... I didn't hear shit after the static. What the hell did you hear, Zero?"

"Unfamiliar voice/ A person indestinguished/ Lurking in static." the assassin replied, standing from his stool, turning toward the fast travel station. He typed in the code for Sactuary and before traveling off, he turned to his teammates and spoke softly. "Do not follow." Then Zero traveled away, leaving all of his comrades standing in the bar with confusion cemennted on their faces.

Two Hours Later

Zero was hopping from rooftop to rooftop, periodically digistructing his sword to practice maneuvers with his favored blade. He soon decided to return to his underground dwelling beneath the Crimson Raiders HQ when a strange feeling caught his attention. It was similar to when Maya had forced her way into his mind, only it seemed softer, like whoever was trying was asking for permission. Zero breathed in heavily, still making no noise as the synthesized air filled his lungs, relaxing his mind and collapsing elegantly into a sitting position on his shins with his hands on his knees. He then welcomed in the silent visiter, easing his muscles. A voice then punctured the silence of the Pandoran twilight hours.

"I was wondering when you would let a ghost like me in..." the voice reported in his thoughts. The air began to feel heavy, causing Zero to steel himself in antisipation of confrontation. As the weight of the wind compressed on the tightened muscles of the assassin, a hollow glow began to appear above him. The light eventually became so bright that Zero opened his eyes, only to be blinded by a sensory-depriving blast that forced him to stand at the ready or be thrown off of the roof. His hand took to his sword, digistructing the blue, glowing blade. When his vision returned, he looked up to see a figure hovering impossibly above the roof, what looked to be wings behind the distorted being. The voice filled his head again. "...Do you remember me, Zero?" The tone was kind and husky with a lingering sorrow that could be all but cured.

"I'd never forget/ A voice or someone like you/ You're one of a kind." he replied, standing to meet the new individual as they descended. He returned his blade to his hip, looking up at the now apparantly female form. The girl touched down exactly three feet in front of the silent humanoid. "...Angel..." Zero said when he met her gaze with a smiley face emotocon.

"Sorry for the psychic mind piercing... I wanted you to guess who I was before I shocked you..." Angel replied, her tattoos fading to their empty purple and her wings of holographic light disappearing.

"That would be a feat/ I expect unexpected/ Events others don't." He said taking a step back and bowing to the young siren. When he lifted from his respectful bow, he noticed a slight reddening in the girls cheeks and she was averting his gaze, or what she believed to be- though she was right. Confused, Zero desplayed a question mark holographically in front of his faceplate, his thin frame looming over Angel's.

Several uneasy seconds passed as Zero's emotocon desappeared and he just stood before a small noise off in the distance caused him to turn away and look toward the sound. Intrigued, the assassin hopped straight up onto a higher rooftop and pulled out his rifle to aim at the location of the sound. Angel floated up to his place and sat down calmly next to Zero, giggling softly to herself when the hitman seemingly ignored her presence.

"There's nothing there, Zero... From what I can tell, it was just one of the drunks leaving Moxxi's bar and stumbling over a pile of rubble." Angel said in a quiet voice as to not desturb him.

"Please think like I do/ Expect the unexpected/ Don't be ignorant." he replied calmly, his body remaining motionless. Angel looked away from him with a misgevous smile, her eyes beginning to glow a faint white.

Off in the distance, the sound of Claptrap screaming in terror cought the attention of the assassin poised next to the young siren. He looked intently for several seconds down his scope before glancing curiously at his friendly companion, chuckling softly into the modulator in his helmet when he noticed the glow in her eyes and put the pieces together. Zero lowered his rifle, returning it to its holster on his back, standing up slightly straighter.

"So how are you here/ Didn't you perish before/ When we cut your tubes?" Zero asked smoothly, desplaying a question mark.

"As it turns out, being connected to the Hyperion Network was as much a blessing as a curse. Before you all arrived, I uploaded my DNA into the New-U stations and respawned at a later date; I faked my death." Angel replied, smiling faintly, trying to disguise her pained expression.

"Living was fortunate/ But life as a Vault Hunter/ Is very deadly."

"I'm aware, which is why I returned to the Hyperion Corporation as the sole share holder. I effectively inherited the entire thing! Now all of the company is at my fingertips... and yours." Angel said with a resolute tone, shanding up from her seated position.

Zero just knodded, turning from the girl next to him and continuing on with his route across the rooftops of Sanctuary, Angel following slowly behind in the air. They soon reached the HQ and stood outside the window.

"To tell the others/ Would raise many suspicions/ Tell them tomorrow." Zero said with a hand pressing to his helmet to immitate a shushing motion. Angel knodded, waiting patiently for him to open the window. "...Follow..." he stated several seconds later, entering the base. He lead the young girl through a confusing network of coridores, tunnels, and windows before leading her to an unassuming pile of garbage. Confused, she glanced up to Zero's mask when he leaned down and gripped a large piece of trash, pulling at it intencely. The piece lifted, revealing a tunnel that was dark and small. Zero now turned to her and gestured for her to go in, when she didn't, he took the lead once again.

Darkness surrounded the two for several moments before Zero lit a small lamp in the middle of a very well designed cave of sheet metal and concrete. He then pointed to an unused, undisturbed bed saying:

"Sleep." He then walked over to a chair and sat down softly, his sword hilt in hand. Angel then went to sleep, trying unsucessfully for several minutes.

End Chapter 1.

I hope this was interesting to anyone that read it. Also it was heavily influinced by other fanfictions and I hope that's alright... See you guys later.


	2. Nightmares and Day Dreams

I believe you've all been waiting for the next chapter. So here you are, faithful readers...

Chapter 2 Begin.

Character Perspective: Zero

Several hours passed as I sat, preparing every fiber of my being to attack at a moments notice to protect the sleeping siren in the room. A light stirring roused me from my meditation and I bolted out of the chair I'd been waiting in, flipping out onto the floor without making a sound. I looked around the room, noticing Angel moving slightly about the bed and making groaning noises. I made one last check of the cave before deciding to relinquish my blade, returning it to my waist. I walked over to where she was asleep, watching her sleep for a short while to make sure everything was alright. As I drew closer, her groaning was stifled and Angel ceased her turning, lying still in her bed. The suddon change in her movements seemed as though my proximity soothed her, and the closer I came to her sleeping form, the less she stirred in her sleep. I now stood only a foot ahead of her and she stopped moving entirely, her arm falling over the edge of the bed. Realizing that she was alright, I turned to go back to the chair when a soft tugging at my wrist caused me to look back at the sleeping girl. Her hand was wrapped around my wrist, preventing my leaving. She then pulled me closer with a weak grip, I complied as to not disturb her slumber. I kneeled at the edge of the bed and she still pulled me closer. I was mildly confused, but I did not show it through the use of my holographic projector as it may have been too bright and woken her up. I leaned forward more, my faceplate now rested only inches from her face. I stared at her, my mind raught with questions due to her subconcious affinity towards me.

Then, as I stared at her motionless, sleeping face, her eyelids began to glow a soft pink as her siren powers started to illuminate her eyes. I could sence something was amiss at this sight and began to resist her hold when her eyes opened, blinding me with the intence light pouring from her eyes. The light was instantaneously replaced by darkness and I felt a radient warmth on my body, as though my suit was gone. The silence that filled the room at night had returned but didn't feel natural, as though it was forced over the cave in which we resided. I tried to look around in the darkness and even my suits enhancements could not help me to see in it; there was nothing but the darkness.

A voice resounded through the impermiable darkness, willing itself to pierce the haze of night with its presence. "Zero?... Zero, are you there?... Please answer me... Zero!" the voice pleaded, exciting a white light above me, forcing out the darkness. I reached up toward the familiar vioce, recognizing Angel's soft voice in the darkness. A burst of purple erupted through the white and blinded me again. When it was gone, I looked around again, seeing Angel standing before me, her wings spindling around the two of us as she collapsed to the ground, crying. "Zero... I'm sccared..." she sobbed, her wings fading away. I kneeled down before her, placing my hand on her shoulder to try to comfort her. She looked up into my visor, her eyes now a rich blue, swimming in a sea of tears.

"No more tears, Angel/ Whatever you're afraid of/ It cannot hurt you." I said softly, my hand cupping her cheek. She smiled at me with fained comfort before I leaned forward, resting my faceplate against her forehead. Through my helmet, I saw her eyes as they looked despirately into it for reassurance, but all I could offer her at that time was words. "Please tell me the truth/ What are you afraid of/ Fills you with such fear?" I asked, my other hand holding hers as I stood up, pulling her to stand with me. She stifled her tears and smiled up at me weakly before replying.

"Show me your fears and I'll share mine..." she answered, her tattoos beginning to glow again as her siren powers flared. She outstretched her other hand to my helmet, touching the smooth surface, never trying to remove my anonymity. I nodded, the blinding light washing over my sences again. A flash of blue and black fluched over me, overshadowing the white light that Angel's eyes created. I looked around again after the hazing burst, noticing that I now stood in a room with slidinng doors and thin sheets of a paper-like fabric over the frames of the doors. I looked around one more time, noticing one of the doors sliding open, revealing Angel in a Kimono, the patturn of which was white with purple fluttering flower petals.

"A dojo?" she asked confused, looking around more intensely, inspecting the room and her dress. She blushed slightly when she noticed the light, silken fabric as it flowed around her.

"Indeed, young Angel/ You are now inside my mind/ Nice dress, by the way..." I replied, displaying a smiley face, waiting for her reaction. She looked away, her cheeks turning a soft pink as a light smile graced her lips.

"So... While we're here, where are your memories and fears?" Angel asked, trying to regain composure. I wagged a finger to her, walking closer to her, sliding my left hand behind her shoulder, gesturing to a door on the far side of the room with the other.

"But you can't go in.../ I'll bring my fears out to you/ And then explain them." I said as we stepped toward the door. My hand dropped from behind her as I stepped ahead of her. I gripped the round, indented handle, sliding the door open. I stepped in, closing the door behind me, immediately being enveloped in a red light.

My sences escaping me, I was no longer able to feel anything, the red light becoming my reality. Soon, I was able to see the white of the door behind me again, the red afterglow of my nightmare fading slightly. I then made my way back to the door, sliding it open and reentering the room in which Angel awaited my return. She had her back turned to me, soon spinning around to the sound of the door sliding closing. Her eyes looked at my arm and shoulder, revealing her fear and confusion.

"You see my nightmare/ Power I cannot control/ A strength not my own." I said, glancing down at the markings that now covered my left arm and leg.

"Those are sirens tattoos... You should never have those... Why are you afraid of having them?" Angel asked, her eyes full of intrigue as she walked closer.

"I fear the power/ Having a lack of self control/ Being unrefigned." I said slowly, tightening my left hand into a fist.

"Then try training with it as though it was your power. Don't fear what you don't understand, learn about it so you no longer have a reason to fear it. Being a siren, I can tell you that I was afraid of my power when I was younger... but as time went on, I learned to embrace it, now it is my true strength." she replied, slipping her tattooed hand in mine. I nodded, sliding my right hand to my sword hilt and taking a few steps back from her. I drew the hilt, digistructing the blade, taking hold of it with both hands. A red, fiery light washing over the blade, binding with its blue and creating a vibrent haze of the two colors as I swung the weapon. I swept through position after position, reciting them out of subconcious memory after years of use. As I continued, I began to feel a burning in my chest, as though this new power was forcing its way into my soul to become a part of me. The burning shot through my veins and I could see a red in my vision. All of the energy in my limbs seemed to drain away and I then did my best to obey my body's desire to drop wihout falling unskillfully to the ground. I forced my arm to return my sword to its place at my side, barely succeeding at this motion and sliding into a cross-legged position on the floor. The red markings on my left side now looked to be on fire, energy eminating from each as though every one was a small coal in a forge, burning intensely. I looked up into Angel's kind eyes, realizing that her tattoos were also glowing and her wings were now positioned around us as her glowing hand outstretched to mine. Feeling a surge of resolve, I lifted my arm to accept, gripping hers. A strong pulse of energy filled my empty limbs and I easily roze to my feet. I felt reborn, as though the strange power was now united with me in reality, not simply in my dreams. When I stood up straight, I showed Angel a smiley face emotocon, glancing at the markings on my body that were glowing through my suit as they now faded to a light color. Angel giggled softly at the sight of the emotocon, walking over to the door on the far side of the room and opening it. A flood of light rushed into our eyes, overtaking everything in a blizzard of white.

Once again, I was senceless, incapable of seeing anything in the emptiness. I lingered in this helpless state for what felt like hours or even days, the silence and tranquility of a tomb slowly seeping into my soul, infecting my life-blood. Just as in the previous encounter, Angel's voice entered into the silence.

"Please... Help me... Someone... Anyone?" I heard her sobbing in a far-off sounding voice. In the darkness, eventhough I couldn't see, I could tell she was close. Somehow, the power I'd gained in my dream was allowing me to detect her presence and proximity. The markings on my flesh began to glow a heavy crimson color as I tapped into their energies. I began to feel amazing, the new power overtaking my sences and seemingly pouring out of every pore of my flesh. Then a thought filled my head; this power is not my own. I must use my own strengths if I am to remain useful to my companions, especially Angel. Realizing this, I released the energies in a deafening, thunderous roar that sent the tattoos back into a lightless state. I closed my eyes, feeling the silence overtake me again when Angel called out once more.

"Zero... Please... If you can hear me... I need your help..." At that point, I used my deception, disappearing into the darkness completely, becoming one with my true nature. I then just sat down into a position on my knees, listening for her voice to call me again. "Zero?... Why don't you answer me..." she cried, sorrow filling her words. "...P- please... don't leave me here!..." she continued. While she spoke, I listened intensely, soon pin-pointing her location. I stood up, dashing toward her voice, incidently tackeling her to the ground, stunning her from her fears. We fell fast, almost landing with me on top of her. However, I reacted swiftly, rolling beneath her in an instant and having her fall into my arms to coushin the impact. We fell hard, but she was light and did not injure me when her weight collided with my ribs.

"Do not be afraid/ I am here to protect you/ To grant you new life." I said softly, gently sliding my hand to her cheek. Then the darkness faded away, revealing Angel's teary eyes to me. I looked into them silently as I awaited her reaction.

After a brief delay, her arms wrapped around my neck and she pulled herself up into a tight hug on my neck. She began pleading for me to stay with her, holding her as she did me. I complied, my arms rolling around her shoulders to hold her closer. Her tears now dripped free of her eyes, gliding down the back of my suit. Confused as to her level of attraction toward me, I remained with her for quite some time before her sobbing ended. When she fell silent, I pushed her away enough to see her eyes when I brushed away the hair that covered the left side of her face. Her eyes red with sorrow and her face stained by tears, our gazes met for a long while as we stood up.

"Are you okey?" I asked, taking a step back from her, desplaying a question mark. She smiled faintly, nodding and regaining her composure. I nodded in turn, standing up straight and looking around for a way out of our dark surroundings.

"Y-yeah... Thanks, Zero..." she said with a heavy red on her cheeks. "Now... Let's get out of here." I nodded, pulling out my blade. She giggled, shaking her head. "That's not going to work... Here, give me your hand..." Angel said softly, holding her hand out for me to take. I accepted, sheathing my blade at my waist. "Now that we've faced our deepest fears, our minds are clear to work with one anothers... If you want to bind minds with me, that is..." she concluded, looking away with a blush on her face.

I decided to break Haiku for my responce as to show her my acceptance of the connection that such a bonding would entail. "It would be an honor, Angel." I then tightened my grip on her hand, desplaying a smiley face. She had previously taken my slow reaction as silence suggesting that I wished to decline and she closed her eyes, beginning to cry. However, when my hand gripped hers, she turned to face me again, confused. This confusion faded away when she heard my responce, being replaced by a heavy blush and eyes that seemed glazed over by strong emotion. Taking this as a good sign, I bent my neck down as to press the forehead of my faceplate to her forehead, causing her to ghasp in surprize before her legs nearly gave out and her blush became an actual crimson color. She was senceless with a strange sensation that I could not identify, practically in a vegitative state for several seconds. "Are you alright?" I asked, pulling my head back to desplay a question mark and release my grip of her hand. She snapped out of her trance, looking into my visor before studdering out her response.

"Y-Yeah... I=I'm okey... I just... L-let's go..." She then raised her hands and both our markings began to glow brightly, engulfing everything in a pink light that formed from the combination of colors. The light soon disolved to blackness and a light weight that only covered a small portion of my body. I could feel a softness beneath my head and back that seemed strange. I lifted my head to see Angel sleeping next to me in the bed, her leg outstretched to cover my lower body and her head resting on my torso along with her hands. In her sleep, she mumbled "Thank you, Zero..."

I immediately whispered into her ear, "...You're welcome, My Angel..." She smiled faintly in her dreams at this, nestling into my chest more happily. I chuckled to myself at this, relaxing into a trance to react instantaneously.

End Chapter 2: Nightmares

So this is the pivital chapter. It sets the stage for their future romance and partnership, as well as some future back-story into Zero... For those of you out there who choose to wonder about our mysterious friend... See you later then...


	3. The Human Condition

A few days have gone by and I feel like I've got a good idea about where the over all story is headed and what campaign the characters are going to take.

Chapter 3 Begin

Character Perspective: Angel

I woke up feeling slighty groggy from just how well I'd slept on my first night in Sanctuary, but above all else, I felt great. I opened my eyes, noticing that I'd fallen asleep on a rather strange pillow that was also very tough. The coloring was also quite odd, It was black with grey patches and also had a rough texture. I lifted myself out of bed enough to look more intensely at the fabric when I realized that it was not really a pillow at all. I inspected the object for a few seconds, noticing a red, painted 0 on the left side of the thick, leathery fabric. This fabric belonged to a suit. Zero's Suit! My face began to burn with embarrassment and guilt as I started to lift myself from his chest. I soon realized that my legs were wrapped around his, one over top his upper thighs and the other wrapped in between his lithe legs. I froze with embarrassment when I looked up into his faceplate to try and guess if he was awake. I knew he likely was, but I was hoping that he wasn't; I really didn't want to try and explain something as embarrassing as this to an assassin, especially not him. His helmet lifted from the pillow and he desplayed an emotocon smiling winky face. I couldn't even stutter out syllables that were even remotely close to a coherent sentence as I looked into the dark sheen of his faceplate. I couldn't move, my mind was blank and my muscles limp, I was paralyzed with embarrassment, completely and utterly trapped by my feelings. He chuckled softly in his disguised vioce, causing me to blush even more, hiperventilating before everything went dark and I felt light-headed.

Character Perspective: Zero

I watched her awaken and look at my chest confused. She followed the stitching of my suit up to my faceplate when her groggy, confused expression melted to one of sheer panic at the realization that I was what she'd been sleeping on. Several seconds pass and I decided to act, desplaying a winking smiley face to show her that there were no hard feelings about what had occured while she was asleep. Her face grew redder and she stopped breathing. I chuckled slightly to try to lighten the mood, but her eyes grew hazy and she fell unconcsious on my chest. I desplayed an exclamation point when this happened, leaning up to check if she was alright. Her heart rate was steady and her breathing was normal so she wasn't ill, but I could not be sure. So I eased out from under her and got out of the bed. I walked over to the sink and washed a glass for her to drink out of if she so needed it. I then got a hand-towel and moistened it lightly before returning to Angel at the bed. I placed the hand-towel on her forehead and stepped away, beginning to meditate as I waited for her to awaken.

About an hour passed before she stirred from her unconsciousness. The sound of the sheets and blanket rustling beneath her moving frame roused me from my meditation, causing my eyes to open. I looked over to where she rested as her eyes opened and she weakly looked around the room in confusion.

"You seemed rather ill/ I was worried about you/ I opted to help." I said in a calm voice, standing from my cross-legged position on the floor at the far side of the room. I walked back to the sink, filling the now clean glass with some fresh water and brought it to the stand at the side of the bed. I set it down, going over to the chair in the southern corner of the room and sitting down.

"...Thanks... But I'm fine now... Really!" she said with an embarrassed expression on her face, waving her hands back and forth, her eyes closed. She turned away after that, looking to the glass on the nightstand and taking it wearily.

"Please drink." I said plainly, gesturing a tipping motion with my hand. She saw this and began drinking slowly. She got a few sips into the tall glass before grimacing and coughing as she put down the glass. "It may not taste good/ But this water is quite pure/ It should be helpful." I said slowly, standing up from the chair.

"Ugh... Th-thanks... I think..." she replied, a grimace still on her face as she slid into a seated position at the end of the bed, rubbing her face. "Oh... I feel like I got into a fight with a skag and won..." Angel said in a low voice.

"Pandora does that/ You can't escape the chaos/ A world all its own." I said lifting a finger as though giving a lecture.

"Uh... Y-yeah... Hey Zero?" she replied, confusion ovious on her face. I didn't say a word as I desplayed a qustion mark. "Can I ask you to not talk in Haiku so much?"

I continued to desplay my question mark for several more seconds before I allowed it to disapate.

"I... just..." Angel began, starting to redden. "I feel like after what we did in our dreams... has brought us closer..." she stuttered, her eyes averting my gaze. I got out of the chair and stepped over to the foot of the bed, taking the glass.

"After everything that you've done for us and everything you have been through, I suppose I could grant your request." I said as I walked away. Confused, she followed me with her eyes. When I put down the glass, I turned around and flashed her a winking smiley face, she again turned away and her face turned red. "...And after bonding our minds, I don't need to act as distant with you, do I?" I asked rhetorically as I made my way back to the edge of the bed.

Angel's eyes widened at the sight of how close and relaxed I became, her cheeks turning a thick cherry color. "Uh... Y-yeah..."

"Very good. Then get yourself ready for your Vault Hunter Training in the afternoon." I replied, holding my hand out to her. She accepted it wearily, allowing me to pull her up. Her suit was exactly as it was the day she died, only with the absence of the collar, the skin-tight synthetic fabric causing her to glide over the bed with ease. She planted her feet under herself easily enough, standing without much issue either. However, when she looked up into my visor, she froze again, her eyes growing glazed over with emotions I could not recognize. "Angel?... Are you alright? You seem ill..." I asked, releasing her hand.

She shook her head as to clear it of the distracting feelings that confused me and smiled weakly, replying in a quiet voice."I... I'm alritht, I just need some fresh air is all..." she answered, stepping past me.

"Then your training will start as soon as everyone is made aware of your return." I said swiftly, walking over to the exit to the cave. She followed close behind me, gripping my wrist and pulling me to turn around and look at her.

"Um... I wanted to talk with you about something before we meet everyone else..." she said in a quiet voice, subverting my gaze.

"What is that, Angel?" I asked, purposely neglecting to desplay a question mark. She noticed this and lunged forward into a tight hug around my midsection, sobbing.

"Zero... I'm still scared! After all that in our dreams, I'm still afraid!" she said in a choppy voice as her sobbs interrupted her words.

"Of what are you afraid?" I asked, placing a hand on her upper back, holding to her softly.

"I feel so alone... Like I'm in that damn prison again... Like I'm still waiting for you and your friends to end my life..." she wimpered, burying her face in the cruck of my neck as her arms tightened.

"Angel... Eh... What can I say to help you that hasn't already been said? I have already sworn to you that I would act to protect you and allow you to have the life that you never could under Jack. I have already given you my word as a warrior that I would never leave you... There's nothing left for me to promise you..."

"Promise me that you'll be with me... In every way a protector can be..." she sniffled, her voice growing more steady and calm.

"I promise. I will protect you in every and any way possible." I said desplaying a smiley face before Angel's hands gripped the sides of my helmet with the intent of pulling it off. I now flashed to projection to an exclamation point as the seals on the bottom of my helm released at her fingers' delicate touches. I stared into her eyes, they were glazed over with the same unrecognizable emotions as before joined by a new, seemingly more powerful one. Her cheeks were a vibrent pink and her lips were slightly opened, allowing me to get a glimpse of her perfect teeth. The last lock on my helmet released and a heavy hissing escaped as the internal atmosphere joined with that of the one around me. She pulled the helmet away, never faultering at my peculier appearence. My skin was a sickly pale and faint blue, my eyes a thick crimson with black where the whites of human eyes resided. My hair was a silver that glistened as though it was truely made of metal. The emotions that she was feeling were far too powerful to allow her to stop and she just continued to lean in closer, her lips parting even more as her eyes gave way to a hollow grey due to a small amount of her power being released.

"Zero... Please... Always protect me..." she wispered, her breath touching my face before she closed her eyes and finnished her quiet address. "...And...I'll... Give you... My... Heart!..."

I was speechless at this statement, the only thing I could say was agree due to my previous promises to her. "I will..." I replied, my unmodulated voice barely echoing in the small cave. With this response, Angel pressed her lips to mine, her arms tightening around my neck. As if hard-wired, my lips parted a small amount and my arms held steadfast to her shoulder and the small of her back. I felt hot tears drip onto my lips as we continued to hold to one-another and our lips began to move. I now began to feel a radient heat fill the left side of my body and my heart as well as a much fainter heat all around me. I struggled to open my eyes for several seconds, noticing that Angel's wings had appeared and were wrapped around us tightly, only a few inches from our bodies. Despite the massive amounts of questions on my mind at that instant, I simply could not keep my eyes open any longer and they fell shut quickly, my lips moving more frequently. Angel began making small noises, half-sighs that permiated into my mouth as her tongue tried to gain entry soon after. I obliged her request, sepparating my teeth more as to grant enough room. Instinctually, my tongue met with hers, the serpentine, two-pronged muscle wrapped completely around Angel's. She gasped at the strange sensation, her body tensed slightly before a heavy sigh leapt from her throat and she fell limp in my arms. More sighs and tears followed her body's weakening and soon, the only moving parts of her body were her mouth and tongue. We were in a trance and could not stop if we tried, our every cell forcing us to continue, challenging us to follow instinct. Before I could comprehend what my body was doing, I was lifting Angel from the ground and carrying her back to the bed, her legs wrapped around my waist. Her body temperature was increasing and I could feel it through my suit, specifically in her lower stomach and pelvis.

"Z...Zero... I... Feel..." she panted almost silently, leaning away from me, her eyes opening very slightly. I pressed my forehead to hers, my skin feeling the increase in her body temperature. I dropped her gently onto the bed, leaning over her and beginning to press my lips to hers again.

I leaned back again from our embrace and softly asked, "What is this?" She giggled, opening her eyes just enough to look into mine.

"It's called a kiss. This is what people do when they share their hearts..." she replied, sliding her hands through my hair, pulling the ponytail out of it.

"I find it enjoyable... I wish to continue..." I said in a low voice, locking my red eyes to hers. Angel smiled, kissing me again. I forced my tongue into her mouth this time, a change that Angel readily accepted, her tongue sliding forward to meet mine as it slithered deep into her mouth. In response to my new drive, Angel slid her hand up in my hair, rubbing my long, pointed ear, eliciting me to grumble with an odd satisfaction. I tightened my grip on her lower back, further pressing her lower body to mine, grinding our suits together. Angel let out a moan that forced her to tip her head back and her body to fall limp in my arms.

"Mmm... Wha... What was... tha... that?" she sighed, her eyes flickering open.

"I am unsure, though you seemed to enjoy it... Should I attempt to repeat it?" I asked in a slightly confused voice.

"Yes!" she shouted, her hands falling free of my body as she fell onto her back. Her arms rested above her head in a submissive position, her breathing shallow and fast. After a few seconds of panting, waiting for me to act, she impatiently pulled my hands to her body. "Please... I feel so... hot... in this... take it off me?" she purred, her eyes fading into a haze similar to the previous. I nodded, beginning to unlock the several buckles on her suit. As the buckles came apart one by one, Angel began leaning into my every touch, arcing her back up from the bed. It seemed as though she was pleading me on, begging me to touch her bare skin. I leaned farther over her to continue removing her skin-tight suit, inadvertently granting her the opportunity that she was waiting for. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled herself up to whisper into my ear. "Can I remove your suit too, Zero?" I pushed her down just enough to look into her eyes once again.

"I'm unsure if I should remove it. I feel vulnerable as it is..." I replied, a confused look on my face as I subverted her eyes for several seconds, my hands stopping.

"Well that isn't fair. I'm not going to be wearing anything, so why do you get to?!" Angel shouted, her eyes filling with mischivous intent.

"That's because without my suit, I cannot perform my Deception." I replied, a serious expression finding its way to my face.

"We're under Sanctuary, Zero! There is no one that can find us down here! Now relax for a little while, sheesh!" Angel shouted, her eyes glowing a bright white as she used her phaseshift to find my suits openings. After a few seconds, she found them and began undoing the clasps and zippers on my suit. As more and more parts of my suit were stripped away, Angel began breathing heavily again, soon forcing my hands back to the buckles on her suit. The last buckle opened and the front piece folded to the side, revealing the softer fabrics that made up the inner linings of her interface suit. The inner lining came open simply enough, being only held closed with a single, large zipper that went down the center of her body. When it came free, she quickly lifted herself up from the bed and allowed it to fall off, leaving only the thin clothing that she wore underneath.

Her exploitation of my armor's quick-releases was proving only half as productive as my undoing of hers. Eventhough she could find the latches and zippers easily, she often found them difficult to unfasten, and there were two layers to each: A buckle or a clasp that covered a zipper that would be covered still by other clasps and buckles. My suit was designed to never need removal. I now began helping her, doubling the time needed to remove the thick, leathery suit. When the final zipper gave way to our collective hands, Angel immediately threw the top portion of my suit off the bed. Our hands then gripped our waist lines, forcing down the other's pants, kicking them off the edge of the bed when they reached our ankles. I looked down into her eyes as she batted her eyelashes at me, removing the final layer of clothing from her body.

I lowered myself onto her, our bodies pressing to one another's. She released a heavy sigh as her soft skin pressed to mine, her tattoos glowing white with energy.

"Kiss me!" she shouted, her hands holding to my shoulders. I obliged, sliding my hands to her lower back and pulling her up into a kiss. Her lower body pressed to mine, allowing me to feel a strange wetness as I kissed her. My outer theigh was pressed in between her legs, up against her pelvis, eliciting another moan from her.

"Is this where I rubbed you before?" I asked, leaning up from our kiss, sliding my finger to the moistened opening, beginning to explore the outer flesh.

"Ah!... Yes!... That's it!" she panted, arcing her back and grinding her pelvis into me. By now, I was feeling a pressure in my lower abdomen, as well as a desire to be with Angel in a way that I didn't understand. "Do you... want... to..." Angel panted, pushing her core against mine. I was genuinely confused and did not realize what she was suggesting at the time.

"What?... I have no proir information as to what this is... Sorry..." I replied, looking into her eyes.

"I should have figured as much... I'm new at this too, but I had an entire network to teach me about it... So... Nevermind... Hold still..." Angel said impatiently, holding tighter to me and forcefully rolling us over as to position herself on top. She then slid down my chest, her hands trailing to my groin. Confused, I watched as she took hold of me, beginning to rub softly. Positioned on her knees and allowing me to inspect her body, I soon realized that I saw her as beautiful.

Her hips trailed at the end of the gorgeous, uniform shape of her back, producing an hour-glass that was the epitomy of the female form. I followed her hips back down to her legs, becoming more excited as I observed. My heart was racing and I was breathing heavily enough to actually make noise as I exhaled. I was incapable of restraint at that point and pulled her back up to me, kissing her intensely and sliding my hands to her shoulders. After the kiss, I observed her front with greater scrutiny, paying close attention to every detail that my eyes took in. I trailed down her clavicle, meeting her chest with confusion. I slid my right hand to the space between the gentle slopes of soft flesh, watching as she inhaled deeply. I now slid my hand over the mound, rubbing it softly. My finger slid over the pink point at the center of the flesh. She reacted sharply, releasing a moan of enjoyment and arcing herself up from the bed. I teased the hardening node, pinching it with care as to not hurt her. Angel started panting heavily, falling back to the soft bed beneath her, her hands sliding over mine and dragging them down to her lower stomach.

"This beautiful flesh/ Looks not unlike a flower/ Nature's purest gift." I said softly into her ear, eliciting a groan of desire.

"Please don't say those things... My pussy is nothing special..." she replied, blushing heavily.

"That's what it is called?/ That name does it no justice/ I prefer 'Flower'." I said locking eyes with her.

"Why? Do you really think it looks that beautiful?" She asked, her blush fading slightly. I now slid my right hand to its opening, rubbing it with my index and middle fingers.

"Yes I do, Angel/ I am surprised that you don't/ Just look how you feel." I said softly, rubbing harder, making her moan louder. My middle finger slithered inside of the flowery flesh, gliding over the small node that was slightly hidden above the opening. The core of the sodden rose was dripping fluids profusely, causing the hairless petals to glisten in the midday light beautifully. "Look at your body/ Tell me if you believe me/ That you are perfect." I said with a resolute voice.

"I... Yes!... I believe you! I... I'm... Beautiful!" she shouted, tightening her legs together around my hand. Triumphantly, I removed my finger from inside her, kissing her softly. After the kiss, she looked down to my shaft with a desire that I felt I understood. I pressed it against her opening, awaiting her response. "Yes... But be gentle, I've never done this before and this hurts for a virgin girl." she said.

I nodded, pushing myself into the dripping petals slowly. She groaned softly, clenching her eyes shut as her fingernails dug into my shoulders and her legs tightened around my waist. She let out a loud moan and several sighs as I pushed deeper. She pulled herself up from the bed and past my face into a hug as she nibbled my ear. Angel sucked at my earlobe, biting it as a way of dealing with the sensation. I pushed her back enough to see where we were conjoined, noticing blood.

"I... Said... It... Was... AHH! HAHN!... Painful!" Angel cried, feeling a mild snap inside herself, gritting her teeth. I stopped my pushing to see if she was alright. "N-NO! Don't Stop!... I'm... I'm fine! Keep going!" She shouted, her tattoos glowing even brighter. I listened to her request, pushing as far in as I could reach. I then began to pull myself out of her when Angel stopped my with her legs around my waist. She then began bucking her hips slowly, her fingernails no longer digging into my back. "Please... I feel tired now... I need you to thrust into me... and do it gently..." she requested, hugging me again.

I complied, pulling the two of us up into a seated position with our legs around one another as I started to thrust into her opening again. I moved slowly as I went in as far as possible and out all the way to my end with every thrust. Her arms tightened around my neck again and I began to feel tears drip onto my back. "Yes! Just like that! Don't stop! It's so good!" she said in a husky voice, nibbling my ear again. Her hips started moving in unison with mine once again,forcing me deeper in less time. Moan after moan filled her throat as we continued, her movements slowly gaining speed. I pulled her into a kiss, muffling the sounds that she was making into quiet groans and heavy sighs. My tongue wrapping up hers as it did before, further stifling her moans. With every thrust, even while I kissed her, she became louder and louder, her insides tightening around me, twitching in strange ways. In several thrusts after my realization of her tightening, I started feeling a growing pressure inside, forcing its way up to the surface in an uncontrollable burning. At the moment the burning became too much to bear, Angel's insides constricted around me in waves, spraying out a thick, clear liquid. I then released the heat inside of me, a surging sensation overtaking my nerves. Angel cried out loudly, every muscle in her body tensing and relaxing in rapid succession before she fell limp in my arms for one final times. I lowered her to the bed, sliding myself out of her now filled flower and laying down next to her, beginning to feel an overwhelming relaxation. I looked over to Angel as she rested in the bed. Her eyes were closed and a faint smile graced her lips. Several motionless seconds passed before she clenched her legs together tightly, preventing the fluids within her from escaping.

"So warm... Zero... Thank you..." She said drousily, slowly falling to sleep. She rolled over and rested her head and hands on my chest, still holding her legs together as she relaxed.

I just turned toward her, smiling slightly as I chuckled quietly to myself. I closed my eyes, holding her by the shoulders as I retrieved my sward hilt from the waist of my suit on the side of the bed, drifting into a calm sleep.

End Chapter: The Human Condition


	4. Revealing Secrets

So... I pumped out chapter 3 really fast, as a result, it felt a little rushed and sort of dived right into the physical aspect of a relationship. Judging on the feedback, it was well recieved and that puts me at ease. Here's Chapter 4 everybody.

Chapter 4 Begin.

External Perspective

All throughout the Crimson Raider HQ, the sounds of the final moments of Angel's satisfaction could be heard, greatly confusing everyone.

"Damn! Is that Scooter watching his smutt tapes again?" Axton asked, his eyebrow raizing with intrigue.

"That should be the last thing on your mind, loverboy... Maya's far enough away as it is... show some self control and she might let you closer..." Lillith said with a mild smile as she walked past his door towards the briefing room.

The commando just stared blankly at the woman as she strutted past, his confusion too great a quantity to allow him to stare at her ass, let alone come up with a snappy retort. She laughed softly, looking back the empty minded man behind her.

"Esta Loco?... Is that damned mechanic that shameless?" Salvedor asked as he lazily rolled off of the battered couch in the center of the HQ, narrowly avoiding hitting the floor in his drunken stooper. With a grumble, he pushed himself up and onto his feet. He stumbled over to the fridge, taking out a Rakk Ale and popping off the cap without even batting an eye. He made his way up the stairs and into the briefing room and dropping heavily into a seat as he took several large gulps of his drink.

"I knew that guy was a perve but, holy crap!" Gaige said with a loud interjection, stepping out of her room, running diagnostics on her digistruct divice. Without looking up from her work, she sat down quietly next to Salvedor, ignoring everyone until she'd finished.

Meanwhile, under the base...

"Remind me to cover my mouth next time... I'm pretty sure that everyone upstairs heard it..." Angel said, blushing a thick, cherry red as she rolled off of Zero and into a seated position at the end of the bed.

"Of course, and to be honest, they did hear you. Your voice was 150 decibels; this cave stifles up to 100 decibels. Everyone up to thirty feet from this epicenter heard. Though it would be very muffled." Zero commented, beginning to put on his suit.

"Thanks for that. At least all of Sanctuary didn't hear... *Sigh*..." she grumbled, grabbing the under clothing to her suit, putting it on.

Several minutes passed as they got completely dressed, save Zero not putting on his helmet.

"I didn't really get to tell you before, but you are quite different from most men... Not just in appearence but in personality... I was attracted to you since the first time I saw what you were capable of..." Angel said, blushing again, her eyes looking away. "...Some part of me just knew you weren't the person that Hyperion made you out to be. I mean... you did do those assassinations, but that was just business... I could tell you didn't enjoy killing..." she continued, stepping over to him, placing a hand on his cheek.

"I thank you. Although, I do... I enjoy killing... But only if it's a challenge... And only if they can defend themselves... I detest killing the innocent as well..." he replied, starinng into Angel's eyes.

"I suppose that's enough then... as long as you're not a monster..." she giggled, stepping away from the inhuman assassin. "What are you, by the way?" she asked, glancing back at him as he put on his helmet, the locks clicking into place and the internal pressure resetting.

"I don't know in truth... Surely not human, though..." he replied, his modulator changing his voice back to its normal, metallic sound. He then walked over to the door, pushing the chunk of garbage away, the outside light almost blinding the young siren. She flinched to avoide being completely blinded by the Pandoran midday light.

The two stepped out, standing just outside of Scooter's garage, staring at the side entrence. Zero began to walk toward the opening, taking Angel's hand and pulling her gently behind him.

"Use your phase shift to cause a distraction a to allow you to walk in through the side door behind me. I will make him believe that his garage is haunted, Scooter has always enjoyed practical jokes... Plus this way, he will recieve you better..." Zero said, releasing Angel's hand.

Zero then opened the door, sprinting in, jumping off of the catwalk and landing mere inches ahead of where Scooter was standing, fiddling with a remote of sorts.

"Holy piss sugar! Zero! Warn me when you're gonna do that shit! I almost crapped my pants!... That was awesome!" Scooter shouted, waving his arms in surprise.

"Thank you, Mechanic/ But I came for a reason/..." Just as he began the final line, the remote lifted out of Scooter's hand and began to disassemble in mid-air. "...Ghosts in your garage..." he finished, feeling rather childish for using such an obvious excuse. However, being the gullible man Scooter was, he believed his every word, beginning to panic.

"Holy Jesus Juice and Titty crackers! My baby's possessed!" Scooter shouted, cowering beneath his desk, holding onto his wrench for dear life.

"I can fix this." Zero said swiftly, pulling out his blade, watching as Angel decended down the stairs to the catwalk silently. "Don't move..." he said to Scooter, taking a combat stance and walking toward Angel. He then used their Psychic link to speak to her.

'Throw some large pieces of equipement around... This way, he'll think I'm fighting and won't want to come out form under his desk... Then I want you to teleport behind me when I tell you to...' he said, rubbing her shoulder, pointing for her to walk back up the stairs. She did as he told her, lifting a car and throwing it into a wall, the pieces also being thrown when they broke off. Zero cut a half finished vehicle out of the air, slicing it into two pieces that split and embedded themselves in the wall.

"God damned, Spirit suckin' ghost sombitch! This's my garage! I'm a feed you to Salvedor and burn his crap to get rid a you!" Scooter screamed, standing up from under his desk and running over to a control panel, pressing a button. With a heavily mechanical humming, five, massive laser turrets digistructed on the walls and cieling, beginning to fire blindly. Angel ducked for cover to take the time to try and hack the turrets, never getting the chance as they soon focused Zero and he cut them down, one by one in Deception.

"Dmnit, Zero! Why in the name of Pandoran pussy would you break mu turrets!?" Scooter shouted angrily before Angel hit him upside the head with a remote.

"They attacked me." he said calmly, shaking some oil off of his blade as it began to boil. "Anyway, the ghost/ She is not really a ghost/ She is an old friend." Zero then destructed his blade, returning the hilt to his waist and snapping his fingers, signalling Angel to flash in.

In a huge shockwave of phase enrgy, Angel disappeared and reappeared several feet behind Zero and walked up and hugged him on the shoulders, giggling sweetly.

"HOLY SKAGSACK! It's that Hyperion girl!" Scooter shouted, ducking back beneath his desk.

"My name is Angel. It's nice to meet you in the flesh." she replied, walking over to where he was cowering, sitting in his chair and rolling it away. She rolled over to Zero, taking his hand and laughing when he complied with her playfulness and pushed her along as he walked over to Scooter's desk. "And Zero here is my fearless protector!" she chimed in again as he effortlessly cut through the desk with his blade.

"We need a favor/ An allaby for my friend/ An explanation..." Zero said mennacingly, picking Scooter up by the collar and displaying an angry smiley face.

Five minutes later in Crimson Raider HQ...

"So it really was Scooter blasting his porn again?" Axton asked, confused.

"Indeed, commando/ The mechanic's unruly/ Disgusting as well..." Zero replied, tossing Scooter onto the floor and walking over to an empty chair and sitting down.

"Y-yeah! It was me! I did it, alright! I love porn!" Scooter shouted under obvious duress. At this, Zero leaned back in the chair, reclining in a way that was very unlike him for several seconds before hopping up into the air and landing on his feet.

"Well... That was strange... Never seen you in such a good mood, Zero..." Maya commented, sitting forward in her chair.

"New developments/ One of our old friends is back/ To aid us again." he said walking over to the balcony and holding out a hand. A bright light began to glow above the roof of the base as all of the electroncs began to spark and glow. The white light faded after a few seconds and a hand reached down from above view, taking Zero's. He pulled the hand down, dragging the person after.

Everyone's eyes widened when they saw exactly who it was.

"Hi, everyone..." Angel said, a mild blush on her face as she looked around the room.

"W-weren't... you..." Axton stuttered, speechless.

"Yes, I did die that day... But I had to fool all of you in order to fool Jack... So when you all came to kill me, I loaded my DNA into the New-U network so I would re-spawn somewhere Jack would never look for me..."

"We had to kill Jack to get him off our trail... Where did you hide from him?" Maya asked, her eyes _almost_ as cold as usual.

"In Liar's Burg." Angel replied simply, her grip on Zero's hand tightening, further confusing everyone.

"Well... Zero thinks you're okey... Considering he usually kills anything that touches him without permission..." Gaige said hesitantly, smiling mischievously. "Isn't that right, Axton?" she continued, glancing over to the still paralyzed commando. Zero remained silent, displaying a smiley face.

"So... not to be rude..." Mordecai began, pausing to take a swig from his drink before continuing. "...But why are you here now?" he finished, wiping his chin.

"Well, I was watching you all when you took Jack down and I saw the map of all of the vaults." Angel began, her kind eyes steeling when she paused. "...One's on Promethia." After she stopped speaking, the room was silent, all were speechless. About a half of a minute stretched on in agonizing silence when Lilith broke it.

"Whait a second... There was no point of reference, no guide, nothing to tell you what you were looking at other than the planets! How do you know what planets you were even looking at?" She asked, her eyes no longer confused, they were now filled with a feeling of suspition at the young girl.

"When Jack died, I siezed control of the Hyperion corporation... Didn't you all realize the engineers and soldiers stop firing at you? That was me... And the fact that you're seeing less and less of them? That was me too... Or the fact that Opportunity was actually opened and no longer even mentions Jack?... Because that too was my doing... If you all missed all that, it's not my fault, you're just oblivious." Angel replied, her voice growing hard and calculating as she rattled off explanation after explanation. "Oh, and Gaige... I left you more than enough time to back-hack that signal... you should have been able to follow it back to a Hyperion relay." She said in a quiet but mennacing voice as she turned to her. "Maya and Lilith... You're sirens! You should have picked up on my energies, at least yesterday when I teleported into Sanctuary! For god sakes, Zero's not even a siren and he picked up on my energy before I even arrived! ...And you, mister 'fearless leader'... you didn't even realize that Zero was missing for half a PANDORAN DAY!" Angel shouted, her eyes glowing white with fury and her wings beginning to materialize.

"Easy, Angel..." Zero replied, using his free hand to pull her by the chin to look into his vizor as he holographically produced a frowny face. Angel's eyes grew empty as she stared and her mood changed. Her powers faded away and she relaxed, turning back to the others.

"...So... I came to tell you all that now that Hyperion is receading into a Lesez-Faire policy of just producing arms and building cities, other corporations are going to come after you for the vault key." Everyone's faces turned deathly white save for Zero who just dispatched an exclamation point.

"Good to see you... Now... Just how many of these corporations are gonna be coming, Hyperion?" Brick asked, cracking his nuckles as he walked in, not even batting an eye at the supposed dead girl in the room.

"Good to see you again too, Brick. And to answer your question, all of them. Even the crippled Atlas corporation is creaping out of the woodwork for this one..." Angel replied, waving a hand over the main terminal, showing the influince of the corporations over the galaxies. Brick hesitated for several seconds, looking at the hologram.

"Ha! Now that's a real fight!" he said after inspecting the sheer size of the groups involved.

"So aside from telling us that we're now ivolved in a full scale war with an entire galaxy, is there anything else that you'd like to talk about?" Axton chimed in, eyes wide and face more pale that Zero's.

"Well... Zero and I are dating..." Angel added, laughing at the reactions of everyone in the room. Everyone accept for Scooter who was just slinking away from the group and already had his suspitions. Gaige looked at her, babbling nonsence as Angel walked her over to a chair to relax for a while. Everyone else stared in bewilderment at Zero as he took Angel's hand when she returned to his side.

"She was here for less than a day and you're dating her?!" Lilith screamed, her eyes glowing with power and rage. She walked over to Zero, raizing a burning hand to him.

"Easy there, Lilith/ The relationship sprouted/ From a commitment." Zero said in a calm voice.

"And what commitment might that be, snake?!" Lilith demanded, taking hold of Zero. Her hand passed through, it was his hologram. "Argh! Damnit!"

"To protect Angel/ Love her like Jack never did/ And grant her new life." Zero's voice echoed throughout the room, startling everyone.

Lilith's fiery wings faded away and she huffed, her anger subsiding as she sat down in a chair with a heavy thud. By that time, Zero stepped out of Deception, standing before everyone silently. He walked back over to Angel and wrapped her in his left arm, standing against a wall, holding his siren gently.

"So now that the anger is all done... What do we do about this war? Because we looked pretty doomed..." Axton asked casually, cracking his neck nonchillantly. He walked over to the terminal and began to inspect it slowly.

"...Actually, now that I look at the facts, it looks like we're royally boned, not just doomed..." Maya chimed in, leaning over the table next to Axton, teasing him slightly with her femanine whiles.

"Seems that way... Angel, any suggestions?" Lilith sighed, forcing herself out of her seat and walking towards the table to stand over it next to Maya.

"Actually yes... And I believe it's one that you all will approve of... Provided we can make it happen..." Angel said with a light grin, stepping away from Zero and up to the table in between the other two sirens. After several seconds of priviate council among the sirens, Lilith and Maya both turned to the youngest siren with shocked eyes. All three of the sirens returned their gazes to the rest of the party, the elder two stepping back, directing everyone's attention to Angel. "We're going to ransack Atlas' data reserves and find Roland's DNA. Then we're going to bring him back to life."

End Chapter: Revealing Secrets.

And so there it is... Chapter 4. I'll be sure to keep up as best as possible with future chapters but I can't offer any promises. It may be a while before the next one is released, so be prepared to wait.


	5. Life Changes Pt1

Chapter 5 begin

The group just stared blankly at the sirens for several minutes, speechless and wide-eyed. No one in the room had any idea as to how to react and instead stared at the three sirens as Angel spoke.

"This may not be our greatest plan, but it's pretty much the only plan. Without Roland's expertise in tactics and maneuvers, we're not going to last long against the stronger corporations. Atlas is also the one that was in control of the New-U network while you first vault hunters were adventuring, so if anyone still had his DNA on record, it would be them. Plus, even if we don't get Roland back, we can take down one of them as a preemptive strike and even the playing field a little. And if we do get him back... well... Imagine what you all could do with the greatest tactition, infinite resources, and a human super computer on your side..." she said, gesturing as she spoke. Everyone in the room began to come back to reality, their confusion lessening to only a slight shock as one by one, they all started to comprihend her words.

Zero was the first to regain composure and agree, he then stepped over to her, speaking in his familiar Haiku adress. "A difficult plan/ But a challenging journey/ You can sign me up."

Next to catch up was Gaige. The giddy, eightteen-year-old anarchist skipped over to stand next to Maya, smiling as she spoke cheerfully. "Let's break the forfth wall all over those sleezy businessmen's faces..." She then made a fist with her mechanized hand and released it, digistructing Deathtrap several feet away. The massive automaton made a heavy gurgling grunt, his singular red eye glowing ominusly. "...See, guys! Even DT wants to get in on the chaos! Come on!"

Immediately following observing Gaige's not-so-silent partner, Axton looked back to Maya and shrugged, smiling slightly as he put his hands in his pockets, walking over to stand next to her. "Well... I can't let Zero be alone with all these lovely ladies..." he said casually, glancing at Maya as she giggled quietly, rolling her eyes.

"I'm going tombien." Salvedor chimed in, cocking his machine gun. He then looked over to Brick, who was doing push-ups on the balcony. Brick looked up from the floor with a plain expression on his face.

"What'cha lookin' at, Slab? I never said 'no'." Brick responded, pushing himself off of the ground with one hand before walking into the room and standing next to Salvedor.

"It's not like I've got anything better to do..." Mordecai said with a dismissive voice, forcing himself from his seat sluggishly.

"That's everybody/ Angel, how does this plan work?/ We can't just run in." Zero said calmly, looking down to Angel.

She just shrugged, "I'm not sure... The only thing we'll have going for us will be surprize; not even Atlas would expect us to just attack them, even in their weakened state, they're still strong... And none of the other corporations know that I'm alive either..." Angel said, her body language dismissive and solumn.

"You mentioned Promethia earlier... What for?" Gaige chimed in curiously.

"That's one of the last hub-worlds the Atlas Corporation still controlls... If we can strike at them there, we'll probebly be able to over power them... Also, if we can take it, we should be on the look-out for the dormant vault that's there." Angel replied. The young siren then turned back to the terminal, hacking it to patch it into the Hyperion network. "...One more thing... If I start working to expand Hyperion's influince, I can start manufacturing New-U stations to be used in thwe invasion..."

"That would certainly be helpful... How long would that take?" Lilith asked, looking innto the hologram aswell.

"At current production speeds, three years. However, that's far too slow... the other corporations would definately have strengthened themselves for an assault on Hyperion by then..."

"How much faster would you need to produce them?"

Angel glanced over to Lilith for a second before turning back to the hologram and speaking. "I would need to triple production speed in order for our attack to be anywhere near timely... And the only way for that to happen would be to adopt a figure-head to conduct business in the public's eye to avert suspition... So I have to keep my presence hidden... But the heros of Pandora wouldn't raise any!..." she shouted, her face changing from calculating to optomistic.

"I see no problems/ The pieces moving to place/ The plan converges." Zero commented, desplaying a smiley face. He looked down to Angel once again, his mask projecting a heart. Angel bluched at this slightly, her cheeks growing redder when she noticed everyone staring at the two of them. She smiled faintly, gripping Zero's hand softly as she turned toward the rest of the party.

"So we'll meet again in an hour... I have some records to change and some factories to start up..." Angel said in a quiet voice, beginning to walk out. Before she could reach the door to the stairs, a voice stopped her. It was Axton, of all people, calling her name. She turned to look into his dusted face, noticing the gleem in his eyes.

"So, Angel... Just what did you have to do to disappear exactly?" he asked curiosly. Immediately after his asking the question, Angel inspected his eyes more closly. He had a strange look in his eyes that she was not comfortable with.

"I don't have to read your minnd to know that there's something else that you really want to ask me..." she replied, shooting him a slightly condescending look.

Axton shrugged in defeat, "Alright... Ya' got me... I really wanted to ask you if you really were going out with our tall, silent friend over there..." He then gestured over his shoulder toward Zero, who was gazing out of the balcony.

"Yes. We are." she then leaned closer to him, beginning to whisper innto his ear. "...He's even shown me his face..." Axton's eyes widened greatly after hearing these words, his mouth opening stupidly. He tried to speak but no words came out, only hollow grunts as air passed his lips. Angel then turned back toward the room, waving Maya over.

"What's up?... What happened to him?" Maya asked, looking at Axton's empty expression and shocked eyes.

"I told him a secret... But he'll tell all of you soon enough... Listen, I need you to do me a favor... Axton here is starting to take a liking to me... So I need you to catch his attention before he hurts himself or worse..." She said in a soft whisper, pulling Maya away from the other's prying eyes.

"Uh... Wha'?" Maya stuttered, her eyes widening in surprize, her cheeks turning red.

"I'm sorry for asking you to do this, but you're the only one here that he's interested in... And if Zero catches him trying to court me, he might just cut him down... I don't want to see that... So will you help me?" Angel asked, herr eyes turning to a playful pleading.

"I... *Sigh* ...Okey... I'll do it... For a fellow siren... But if he tries to touch me..." Maya replied in defeat, her eyes and tattoos glowing as whe faised her fist playfully to Angel before walking off, dragging a still stuttering Axton away.

"Zero? Can you come here for a second?" she called, waving her silent lover over. The assassin turned, projecting a question mark, pointing to himself. When she nodded, he walked over, standing with his arms crossed, still projecting the question mark. "Can you do something for me? I need you to make a point for me. Go over and knock Axton out... Don't kill him or cripple him... Just knock him unconscious!" she whispered, kissing the side of his faceplate, attracting some unwanted attention. Zero nodded, using his Deception to slink away, his decoy still standing next to Angel as the two bodies leaned against the wall, seemingly having a conversation.

Several yards away, Maya was sitting on a bench, waiting for Axton to snap out of his cattatonic state. After a few minutes, he blinked, finding his way back to reality. However, this too was taking too long, so Maya took a preemptive strike, slapping him on the back of the head.

"What the hell was that for!?" Axton yelled, turning to the silent siren that was sitting next to him.

"For not coming to your sences! Now hold still while I beat some brains into that thick skull of yours!" she replied, winding herself up for another swing. Axton slid several feet away, waving his hands in fear. Maya chuckled softly, lowering her hand and looking back into her lap. "Sorry. *Giggling* I just wanted to make sure I had your full attention... So what's up?" she asked casually.

"Uh... Nothing... Why?" he asked cautiously, sliding slightly closer to her.

"No reason... Just wanted to know if you were doing anything later..." Maya replied, her cheeks turning a soft pink.

" No... Not really... After the briefing, I was just gonna relax for the afternoon, maybe stop by Brick's for some sparring or somethin'. I donno... Why, did you wanna come?"

"If you're not busy, I was thinking that we could go to the Exploitation Perserve and watch the animals..." Maya said, her blush growing heavier.

"Sure, I guess... If that's what you'd prefer, that's cool..." Axton replied, looking into her eyes. The midday sunlight reflected off his eyes, mesmarizing the beautiful siren, she was now trapped by the deep glint in his experienced eyes.

"Sounds nice..." she said in a relaxed voice, staring deeply into his now excited eyes. Before she could catch herself and snap out of the fleeting infatuation, a hollow thump echoed in her ears as she saw Axton hit the ground, motionless. She looked down at him, thenn up into the dark void of Zero's faceplate. She dropped to his side, trying to rouse him from his daze but he was completely unconscious.

"Don't touch my Angel/ She's not for the likes of you/ You cannot have her..." Zero growled, his synthesized voice full of an actually detectable rage. He then unclenched his fist and walked away. Yet despite his outrage, he did not make noise with his stomping. Confused and slightly terrified, Maya watched the assassin as he walked off before she redirected her attention back to the unconscious commando in her arms. She slapped his face lightly, trying to wake him, when that didn't work, whe lifted him in a phase lock and walked with him off to Zed's clinic.

After several moments, Zero returned to Angel's side at the HQ, leaning back against the wall casually.

"Is he out?" Angel asked nonchillantly, glancing over to her deadly partner. He simply nodded, twirling the hilt of his blade (The object used to incapacitate Axton). "Well then... I'm off to start giving orders and making up stories... See you in about an hour..." She said in a mock cheerful voice before kissing Zero's faceplate and leaving. Zero nodded, beginning to turn from his siren when a thought crossed his mind. He spun back around and stopped her in her tracks, pulling her to face him as he pulled out a shield and handed it to her.

"Be careful..." he said simply, projecting a smiley face.

"It's not like my shield could be broken to begin with... Every other time my shield would break, it simply is reduced to 1, and that effect stays until the shield starts to recharge and resets itself when it fully recharges... Zero, I'll be fine on my own... Besides, I own the company that the workers recieve their paychecks from, they wouldn't touch me... Also I'll be gone for only an hour... Stop worrying about me..."

"Then take this one..." Zero replied, taking away the shield that he gave her before, now handing her the Love Thumper Shield and beginning to walk away. He walked past Brick as he did his daily 10,000 push-ups and jumped straight up onto the roof of the building, disappearing. Angel stared at the shield for several seconds and chuckled lightly to herself, clipping it to her waist, watching it activate around her.

Meanwhile, With Zero...

Zero was hopping from rooftop to rooftop when a familiar feeling set in, again as though a voice was askinng permission to gain access to his mind. He stopped, smiling slightly to himself before nodding, allowing her to enter.

"Yes, Angel?" he asked, standing still, more so than a statue.

"Just don't get into any trouble while I'm gone, okey?" she replied, her voice sweet but worried. Zero again shook his head, replying after several seconds.

"Goodby, Angel... I'll see you soon..." he said with a fained impatients, gaining a soft giggle from her as she ended the phsychic link. Zero then shook his head, smiling to himself, projecting a heart as he thought of Angel for several seconds before returning to his daily rounds around Sanctuary. As he circled the Raider HQ for the forfth time in a minute and a half, he noticed a slight burning on his left side, his fingers on that side beginning to fall numb and grow stiff. Zero then made a decision to stop for a brief delay and check himself, returning to his hidden cave. He arrived without raising suspecions, closing and locking the door tightly and securely before beginning to remove his armor very dextrously. He then reached the under clothing, removing that with less regard. However, when he started to pull his arms over his head to attempt to remove the skin-tight shirt, his joints began to feel stiff and heavy; as though a force was pushing in on the joint and down on the limb as a whole. After a few seconds of slowly removing the light clothing, he noticed a slight bruising beneath the skin in a wavy but indestinguishable pattern that seemed to grow darker almost impreceptively in time to his pulse. Zero just sighed loudly to himself in ample frustration before beginning to put his armor back on and slowly unlocking the door.

End Chapter: Life Changes Pt. 1


	6. Life Changes Pt2

So I'm actually rather satisfied with the last chapter and how well it ties into this one, so story wise, I'm not changing a thing from the original, aside from story progression speed. Basically, when I originally wrote this particular piece of the stroy, it took place a few months ahead in the future, but the story only actually was shortened by about a chapter of fluff and filler by my taking it out...

So without any more delaying with irrelivent information, I give you all "Life Changes Pt.2!"

External Perspective

Zero now stood in his hidden home, fully dressed in his standard armor, theorizing with himself as to what exactly could be happening to him as he stared at his left arm and leg. The previous pressure in his joints and heaviness in his limbs had now subsided, giving way to a dull ache that was as persistant as Axton in his persuit of Maya's favor. Zero chuckled lightly to himself, reminescing in countless memories of his comrades committing stupid and usually pointless acts of valor, comroderie, and kindred spiritedness. As an immediate response to his slightly violent muscle movements in his laugh, the dull ache surged into a burning and shooting pain, coursing through every nerve on the left side of his body. He almost doubled over, his hand holding to his shoulder as he eased himself into the chair. A heavy sigh seft his throat as he sat, removeng his armor again. Soon, the armor was off, laying in a relatively neatly folded pile on the floor beside him, his hands over his face.

"Ugh... I cannot function in or outside of battle if this aching does not subside..." Zero said to himself, removing his hands from his face and clenching them into fists. When his left hand tightened, a surge of strength flowed into his body, returning his stamina. He looked down into his hand puzzled, looking at the bruising questioningly.

"These are not normal bruises... Then... What are they?" he asked, forcing himself up out of the chair. The energy that he now felt surpassed his ordinary, impressive level of strength, making him feel outstandingly lively. He walked with suspecion in each step, distrusting his body as he made his way to the bathroom in the side of the cave. Despite the lesser quality of habitation compared to the other places in Sanctuary, Zero's bathroom was very well-kept. It possessed a full sized shower and running water that tapped directly into the digistruct modules that created the waters of the floating city, granting the humble assassin an earlier taste of the fresh daily supply. He entered the shower, closing the door behind him as he continued toward the walk-in shower. He turned on the water, beginning to remove his underwear as he waited for the water to heat up. The poetic hit man further inspected the marks on his body, noticing similarities between them and the markings of a siren.

"The two are in close resemblence, but differ greatly in design... I wonder why..." he asked himself, rubbing the bruising on his shoulder. Strangely enough, the bruises no longer hurt, they simply throbbed, coursing an odd vitality that further confused him. He now entered the shower, reveling in the refreshing sensation of the warming waters cascading down his lean frame, relaxing his tense muscles. However, before the fine-tuned fighter could fully release his tension, a shallow knocking at his hidden door allerted him, causing him to return to his guard. He looked out from behind the curtain to the twenty-some-odd live streaming video images near him. (Just because he relaxes doesn't meen that he eve gets careless.) Zero looked from screen to screen, finding the several that overlooked the door and the few feet that surrounded it. The person knocking was none other than Angel, standing with patients at the entrence. Zero pressed a button, causing the door to open with a quiet, automated sound, allowing the kind girl to enter. When Angel walked past the threshhold of the door, Zero pressed another button on the control panel, causing the door to close and relock. Zero then psychcically contacted Angel...

"Angel, you're back early... Did everything go according to plan?" he asked telepathically, turning off the water.

"Well... Not exactly... I'll explain when everyone's at the briefing. For now, seing as we've got some free time... I thought that I'd hang out with you for a little while..." she replied, stepping toward the colosed door of the shower. She opened it gingerly, trying to alert Zero of her presence and not startle him. She pushed it open, stepping inside at the exact moment that Zero stepped out of the shower. Her eyes met his body, taking in the changes with great surprise. "...What... Are... Those...?" she asked, her face growing pale with fear and confusion.

"I'm unsure, though I believe they're similar to a siren's tattoos... With one exceptio-..." Zero began before his eyes rolled back in their sockets and he dropped to the floor, unconscious.

Character Perspective: Zero

I felt strange... Like my senses were being denied and by body was no longer under my control. There was nothing around me, only darkness. Soon, however, the darkness gave in to a light that seemed to raiate from my body, illuminating through my bruises. The light began to burn, seering my flesh and flaring through my suit to form red markings that were very similar to those of a siren. I looked around in the crimson after glow as the landscape appeared before me. I was standing in the middle of a mountain, covered in fresh snow and covered with strange, white rocks that possessed a glow radiating from them. I continued to look around, noticing a strange creature perched on one of the taller stones about one hundred meters away and fifty meters high. I reached for my rifle, but my digistruct module was gone, all that I possessed was my favored blade. I took it from my side, disappearing under stealth and walking silently toward it. I walked for several seconds, noticing in the corner of my eye a growing white haze. I turned to look, seeing a similar creature emerge from seemingly nowhere. It was noticably larger than the other, standing almost ten feet tall and partially slouched. Though it stood straight, it's head was about two feet ahead of the rest of its body and lowered to the same level as its shoulders. It possessed a thin frame and misshapen extremedies that seemed too long for its body. It lifted its long arms and constructed blades on each hand as it screached out and charged me. I again reached for my weapons, this time, I found my Law pistol. I unholstered it when it digistructed, readying myself for the impending fight. It lunged at me with it's heavy blade, puncturing my shield, I retaliated with a swift lash at its side, with negligable results. Its shield must have been sizable as it absorbed my strike with ease. It slashed me again, cutting a deep gash into my stomach... If my C0unter Strike didn't penetrate its shield now, I would die. I side-stepped its next attack, going into my Deception and tossing all of my explosive kunai into the creature, dashing into it after they errupted. The creature was knocked back just enough that my decoy exploded in its face. The creature was sent reeling, recovering slightly several feet away, its shield depleated. I attacked mercilously, cutting the creature in half with two swings, Killing Bl0w hitting with enough force to tear the now aparantly mechanical beast in two, healing me completely. I reached for my Infiltrator Rifle, zeroing in my sights on the flying one that was previously perched and fired straight into its oddly positioned head. The glowing, mechanical wings on the back of the monstrosity exploded, dropping the dead creature to the ground with a hollow thud. I looked over the landscape with my rifle, seeing two others, picking them off in similar fashion. I then heard another ear-splitting screach and turned to my left, seeing two more of the automatons side-stepping their way toward me. I pulled out my pistol again, immediately entering Deception and throwing my kunai into one's face, killing it with the explosions. I directed my attention to the one still lunging fruitlessly at my decoy, waiting several more seconds for my timer to tick down before dealing my strongest attack. Just before I could strike, a purple and blue explosion broke my shield, granting me my c0unter attack. I turned around to see one several meters away, launching what seemed to be morter attacks at my decoy. I began charging it, my timer growing very low, but with one more melee dash, I cut the creature down in two pieces, my decoy killing the other with shock damage. I turned around several times, watching the horizon for more of the flying ones, swapping my weapon out for my rifle again. Three more started soaring toward the area that I was in, charging some sort of energy ray and starting to attack me. I dispatched them rather quickly, my shield absorbing the blunt of the assault. Several seconds pass by as I reload my rifle,scanning for more enemies; none came. I noticed a cave of sorts leading into a dark, square-shaped hole and began to walk toward it, pulling out my Law again. I entered the hole, once again feeling the left side of my body begin to burn and glow.

I exited the hole to walk into a large chamber that was snowy inside. In the center of the chamber was an alter standing in front of the symbol of the Vault. I stepped forward toward the alter, feeling a welcome sensation in the back of my mind. Angel was yet again asking my permission to enter my mind, and by extension, my dreams. I let her in and was immediately blinded by a white light that quickly subsided. I opened my eyes to see Angel floating about two feet ahead of me, smiling softly.

"You're a hard man to get a hold of..." she teased, dropping to the ground and walking over to me, hugging me longingly. "...I was so worried... Please don't scare me like that again!..." she cried, burying her face in my chest, her grip tightening. I wrapped my hands around her shoulders, consoling her as best I could with my armor on. She pulled away after several seconds, her sobs stopping as she wiped her eyes. "...I... figured out why... you're getting these markings... And you're not a siren... You're an Eridian..." she said softly, her siren tattoos glowing a heavy white. "...You may even be the last of your kind in the galaxy..." she continued, wiping away another tear.

"How do you know these things, Angel?" I asked, slowly releasing my grip on her.

"When I entered your mind... Your memories... Your hidden ones... Opened up to me... Maybe it's because you were here fighting your subconscious when I showed up?" she answered with a puzzled expression, looking deep into my eyes. "...Anyway... The reason that you have these tattoos is because your species created the sirens thousands of years ago... They were trying to aid man's evolution by granting them traits much like their own... Eridians naturally possess powers stronger than that of a siren due to their heritage... I guess when your memories were locked away, so too were your powers..."

"Why were my powers locked away? By whom?" I asked, confused.

"I can't answer that... Those memories are still locked... Most of your memories should return to you when you and I wake up, along with your access to your powers outside of your dreams..." she said in a kind voice, taking my hand in hers.

"Why have they unlocked now? What's changed?" I asked, looking into her eyes. She stared directly into mine through my helmet, as though it wasn't even there.

"You're with me now, Zero... Your heart was what was keeping them locked away... And now that you've given it to me, a siren, they've unlocked! If we were just in proximity of one another without the connection we share, the process would have taken almost two years, by my calculations... But with the addition of love, the transaction has taken little more than a Pandoran day!" she replied, smiling up at me with child-like innocense. She then leaned forward into another tight hug with me, snuggling her face into my chest. "Mmmm!... And now that you've got all this energy flowing through you... You're like an aphrodeziac... I feel like a cat in heat right now... Mmm..." she said in a slightly husky voice, pulling away from my chest. Her eyes opened and revealed a lustful hunger the likes of which I'd never seen. She looked as though she really was in heat... And I was scared of what that would meen for the other sirens... Would the effects spread, or was this only going to effect her because she was the one that I'd chosen?

"Angel... Are these powers going to attract Maya and Lilith as well, or are the effects limited to just you?" I asked, pulling away aeveral inches.

"You gave me your heart, Zero... And I gave you mine... These effects could only be given to the siren that sparked the change by love... So you're safe from having an unwanted harem... Unless you wanted one... Pervert..." she replied, her eyes playful with lustful confidence. She then began to remove my helmet before I stopped her with my hands.

"Not here Angel... Not in a dream... If we are to make love, let it be in our true reality..." I said as I pulled her hands away, projecting a heart and pressing my face plate against her forehead.

She closed her eyes, smiling slightly as she replied. "Mm hmm!" she mumbled in affirmation, biting her lower lip softly. Our markings began to glow brightly, burning away the landscape that surrounded us and filling us with warmth. I momentarilly closed my eyes, opening them to realize that I was lying in the bed in our cave next to Angel as she snuggled up next to me, rubbing her pelvis against me in a needy, gyrating motion. I was weraing only a towel that Angel had used to cover me with before dragging me out of the bathroom. Angel then leaned over me, pinning me down on the bed between her legs. "Now make good on your promise... And I'll reward you at the end..." she purred, her tattoos still glowing brightly. I kissed her passionately, our eyes closing together.

End Chapter: Life Changes Pt.2


	7. Readjusting

I'm pleased to announce that my story will not be derailed from its progression! Nothing will stop me from writing this story and sharing it with my readers. I would like to take a few moments to write that I am greatful to all of you that have been reading my story. It means a lot to know that others enjoy my story as much as I enjoy writing it.

Now... The show must go on!

Begin Chpter 7

Character Perspective: Zero

It was about an hour after our session in our cave that I awoke in our bed. Angel was fast asleep on her side, resting her head on my chest as she periodically rubbed her face lovingly against me. She was very peaceful in the way she slept at that moment... almost as though she was a cat given a little too much cat nip... I then began to stir out of the bed, gently slidind her to my side and lifting myself out from the covers that Angel had lazily draped over us before she had fallen asleep. I skillfully slinked out of bed, reflecting on what Angel had said before we'd began... "Now make good on your promise... And I'll reward you at the end..." her voice echoed in my head distantly. I reached down with my feet, sitting at the edge of the bed as I slowly composed myself and gathered my armor. After several minutes of putting my armor back on, Angel awoke, rubbing her eyes and stretching as she opened her eyes to focus on me.

"Mmm... That was... Amazing... I've never felt _that stimulated..._ before... And your new powers... I swear, you've gotten more revenous!" she said, lifting out of bed, the covers falling free of her body, presenting her soft skin to me. I gazed down at her for a short while, taking in the beauty that she allowed me to see. "...See something you like, _Lover?_" she asked in a sultry voice, sliding her hands up her arms to push her breasts up, her eyes full of lust again.

"Yes. But I also believe that we've kept the others waiting for long enough. The briefing has been prolonged for long enough." I answered, handing Angel her suit.

"Oh... You're no fun!" she pouted, taking the clothing and beginning to put it on.

As I handed her the suit, I wispered in her ear, "If you're patient enough, some day soon, I'll make today feel like only an appetizer..." She perked up at this, racing to put her suit on and coaxing me to hurry up. I joined her at the door, now realizing something strange, the markings that I'd acquired were permiating my suit, changing the fabric that covered them into a clear one as to allow the energy to rediate outward.

"Angel... What sort of reward did you have in mind?" I asked curiously, tiping in the code that unlocks the hidden door to our cave.

"What rew... Oh! You meen that... You'll find out soon enough..." she teased, pressing herself to my back as she hugged me tightly. I noticed in the corner of my eye that her siren tattoos were not their usual white glow, they were instead a soft pink.

"I see your body is adapting to my new powers... Such a change is a good sign..." I said, tapping into my new knowledge of sirens.

"I trust now that you know more about me, you're gonna take care of me?" she asked, her voice turning playful mid-way through her sentence. I nodded, projecting a smiley face from my helmet and now opening the door. The light caused Angel to sigh in discomfort as her eyes readjusted to the sudden brightness as opposed to the cave interior. Her arm latched to mine as she followed me, still barely able to see. I lead her to the HQ and into the front door, allowing her to continue on her own from there, following her close behind.

"Sorry for postponing the meeting for so long... new circumstances have arizen..." Angel said in a soft voice, stepping out from in front of me, allowing the others to see my new markings.

"Something very new/ Has occured in my absence/ And I now have these..." I said with an exclamation point projecting from my face plate. Everyone in the room went dead silent, their eyes wide with surprise.

"But... those...are... And... you... are..." Maya stammered, stepping closer, staring into the glowing markings.

"No, Maya, they aren't/ Thy're different from sirens' marks/ I'm Eridian." I replied, desplaying a smiley face.

"But we've fought Eridians! You don't look enything like 'em!" Brick interjected, pointing a finger at me.

"You fought Guardians/ Constructs that my people made/ Not my true people." I answered calmly.

"Then what's with the tattoos if you're not a siren?" Lilith asked curiously.

"We Eridians/ Created the first sirens/ Gave them our powers." I said, turning to face her, my stance unwavering.

"True Eridians can only awaken their powers through the use of a siren's love. That's why he's never shown symptoms until now..." Angel chimed in, taking my hand, her tattoos glowing pink again.

"Is that a side effect of being around one of you?" Maya asked, reaching out and touching my arm. She then had her hand slapped away by Angel's as she growled almost primally at her siren sister. "Whoa! Calm down, I was just inspecting them..." Maya replied, lifting her hands in a non-threatening manner and stepping back from the two of us.

"Yes, Maya, it is/ But only for the siren/ That awakened me." I replied, rubbing Angel's head. She made a soft sigh of pleasure, closing her eyes and pressing herself against me. "It's temporary/ Angel will grow accustomed/ And relax a bit..." I continued, shrugging as I spoke in a dismissive tone.

"And... Why do you know all of this now?" Gaige asked, tapping her metallic hand against a counter top.

"When his powers unlocked, so did his memories..." Angel said softly, her voice full of enjoyment.

"Then... Wouldn't you be hundreds of years old?" Axton asked, still holding an ice pack to the back of his head.

"Eridians can become dorment for thousands of years... It's how their ruins remain in such disrepair... But never damaged enough to scrap... And why they have the guardians." Angel commented, pulling her face away from my chest for just long enough to answer. She then returned to rubbing against me lovingly, her cheeks brightened with a soft pink, along with her tattoos.

"Well... Until the heat wears off of our super computer here, we've got no plan..." Mordecai chimed in, sifting his bottle up to drink and tossing it aside when he realized that it was empty.

"No... I can still focus... I just have to leave him for a short while..." Angel began, forcing herself away from me. "Okey... I have good news and bad news... Which would you rather hear first?" Angel asked, her tattoos fading back to their usual purple.

"Start with the bad news first." Axton said, pulling the ice away from his head.

"Alright... So... The production of the New-U stations for our invasion cannot accelerate any faster than normal, it would bankrupt the company... However, the good news is that before Jack put the production on hold, the designers created a New-U device that was self-coppying... It was a device that the user would wear on their person that, when used, would digistruct with the person..."

"Wait... What now?!" Gaige asked, her interest peaked.

"It was designed so that when the user died, it and the user would deconstruct and reconstruct exactly where they died. The devices would be issued to important Hyperion personel and given their own priviate digistruct network. Basically, with these, New-U stations, for you all, would become obsolete... So I started the constructors on ten of then right away. They should be finished within the next few Pandoran days or about a week." Angel said, hacking into the main console and desplaying the schematics for the divice.

Gaige took one look at the specs and freaked out, standing up and screaming bloody murder. "I knew it! That cheating bastard! Jack bit off my designs! He's no better than that whore, Marcy Holloway! Angel!" She was then cut off by Angel walking up to her and speaking softly, placing a hand on the Mechromancer's shoulder.

"I wasn't sure that the design was yours, though I had my suspicions... So I'll transfer the lisencing agreement into your name and transfer all of the profits to your account in the New-U network. The patent will also be changed to be under your name and you can oversee the productions yourself... Gaige, I'm sorry for what Jack did... So... Here. An advanced copy for you to tinker with... I was going to give it to you anyway, but now the reason is for more than givinng you something to do." Angel said in a somnolent voice, digistructing the device into her hand and handing it to Gaige.

"I... I don't know what to say... Angel... You'd do all that for me?" Gaige asked, her eyes widening.

"Yes. It's your invention and you should have say over what it is used for and who uses it. And I'm terribly sorry that this happened." Angel said, hugging the younger girl.

Gaige began to cry, reciprocating the hug tightly, and thanking Angel for what she'd done.

"This is the nicest, most honest thing I've ever seen on Pandora... And this is the best gift that I've ever had... Thank you..." she sobed, rubbing her tears away with her human arm. The two then sepperated, looking to the rest of the group with still mildly teary eyes.

"...Now then... back to the plan... Using these devices, you all cannot be defeated and could laungh a successful assault on the corporations by yourselves. The devices cannot be destroyed, hacked, or even touched after activation. They litterally become a part of the wearer... Until the wearer authouizes the device to turn off. This feature requires a password that must be selected by the new user and actively set. Simply speaking the password will not do anything either. It hardwires into the brain of the user and must detect the desire to deactivate... something that I have personally created to give you vault hunters an edge against the corporations..." Angel said, handing them each an interface digistruct. "This specialized digistruct will also ensure that you all never have to pay a cent for a re-spawn for the rest of your lives... Unless you decide to donate to us..." Angel added, blushing slightly.

"Hurtin' for money that bad, huh?" Brick asked, walking into the room from the balcony.

"Yeah... Hyperion's revenue has taken a massive downward spiral sence I forced the end of mining Eridium... We're still competing with the other corporations, but we've got to keep up and produce equipment for you all." she said with a down-cast expression. I stepped over to her, resting my hand on her shoulder. She looked up into my eyes, her tattoos turning pink again, mine glowing a strong crimson. She blushed heavily, trying to remain professional. "...I... should also say... th-that... these devices... pro...duce... ammo and... health vials..." she stammered, slowly leaning closer to me as she spoke.

"Then money's worthless/ I will no longer need it/ You can have it all." I said in a soft voice, pressing my face plate to her forehead.

She began to pant quietly, holding tightly to me, her sensitive parts pressing to me. I felt her heart racing beneath her suit and could see it in the pulsation in her tattoos. I wispered into her mind telepathically as to avoid suspicion.

"Go take care of yourself for a while... you need to rest and relax..." She nodded, forcing herself to start to walk away when I stopped her. I placed my hand on the semi-circle at the center of her chest and sent a pulse of energy into her. Her tattoos flared a briliant red and grey as the energy coursed through her. Her wings appeared behind her and her eyes turned blood red. She then closed her eyes, releasing a blinding burst of light, teleporting away to our cave.

"Wow... So... that's the power of an Eridian?... You can hard-wire sirens to do things?" Maya asked, slightly intimidated.

"Yes, but choose not to/ Free will is a precious gift/ I asked her to go..." I replied, pointing to my head silently. Everyone in the room stared at me. I simply stared back, a question mark projecting from my visor.

"So... you have full blown telepethy now?" Lilith asked, still shocked.

"Yes, I'm not speaking/ This entire conversation/ Has been in your minds." I said, walking toward Salvedor, reaching for my blade and thrusting it into his chest. The blade passed harmlessly through and I disappeared, showing everyone that I was no longer in the room. "Astral Projection/ A very handy new skill/ Better than decoys..." I said, reappearing as another projection. Everyone stared again, especially Salvedor after inspecting himself for several seconds, checking for holes in his abdomen. "Any questions?" I asked in a sarcastic voice, leaning against a wall. After several seconds, I began to lean up from the wall. "If you'll excuse me/ I must go tend to Angel/ She is calling me..." I then flickered away, leaving everyone wondering where I really was.

I then turned away from the wall that I had been speaking to in order to astral projet and removed mt helmet, smiling as I approached the bathroom where Angel was running her shower. As I drew closer, continuing to remove my armor, eventually taking off the upper half of the suit before entering the bathroom where she'd been moaning in pleasure. I opened the door, stepping in and closing it begind me. I put down the pieces of my suit as well as taking the remaining lower half off and dropping it down with the rest. I stepped into the shower with her, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her hands away from their position over her most sensitive region.

"You shouldn't be doing that on your own... This is exactly the tipe of thing that you can ask me to do for you... _Lover_..." I said in a low voice, wispering the last part in her ear almost silently. She released a heavy moan when I spoke, taking a step back as I took one forward, pinning her to the wall of the shower.

End Chapter: Readjusting


	8. Some Assembly Required

So, to any of you that have gotten to this chapter; thank you for continuing to read my story, and Please send me some feedback, I'd like to know how I'm doing...

Chapter 8 Begin

Character Perspective: Zero

I stood outside the bathroom, listening as Angel made me wait outlide for the surprize that she said that she was planning for me. I could have entered her mind to find out what it was, but that would not be the right thing to do. I did not give my heart and soul to her just to betray her trust and devotion... So I calmly waited, leaning up against the wall next to the door.

"Okey, Zero... I'm coming out... you can take a step away from the door now..." her voice echoed telepathically in the reaches of my mind. I complied, taking a step back from the door and looking at it as Angel began to push it open. "Please don't laugh..." she said with a mousy voioce. She stepped out wearing a suit that looked exactly the same as her original only it possessed a trainlig, clear fabric that stretched over her tattooed flesh. The clear parts were positioned as to only reveal her tattoos and none of the skin that surrounded them, allowing her to remain modest and keep her self esteem. I gazed at the strange garment for several seconds, studying how well it fit her body.

"Impressive... Provided it can still cover your more private parts form the prying eyes of others..." I commented, stepping toward her. I rested a hand on her shoulder, pulling gently at the skin-tight fabric in an attempt to move its position on her body. The skin beneath moved with the fabric, showing that it was well made and designed to connect to the skin when worn. "If it binds to the flesh, is it difficult to remove?" I asked, stepping back.

"Yes, when it's unlatched and ready to be removed, it can be... It's not ready to be removed right now, so it is currently connected to my skin." she replied, smiling with satisfaction. I nodded in approval, pulling her in closer to me, watching as her tattoos began to glow pink again. I stared into her blue eyes, watching as her mind slowly clouded with desire.

"If you were seeking my approval to wear this, you have it; this suit is well made and suits you." I commented, smiling as I began leaning closer as to kiss her.

"I would've worn it anyway..." she replied, starting to blush. I chuckled softly at this, still moving in towards her lips.

"I'm not so sure..." I said in an even softer voice, now only an inch from her face. She now began breathing heavily, sliding her hands up to my shoulders. I slid my fingers up her front, prying at the buckles and fabric to free it from her body.

"Not quite as easy as removing regular clothing either... I have to psychicly tell the armor to release. It will also digistruct back on in a moment's notice..." Angel said in a husky, lustful voice. She then closed her eyes for several seconds and the armor began to slide free of her body like a rich silk sheet. She opened her eyes with such a sensual grace that it cought me by surprise, causing my eyes to widen. She now stood before me, wearing nothing, her armor being the only thing that she'd been wearing previously.

"I may need some of that armor..." I said with a grin, beginning to lean in again.

"Already put out the order..." she giggled, pressing her lips to mine. She then started moving her lips in forceful ungulations, holding tightly to my neck.

"Zero! Angel! Look alive! We need you in HQ! Something's going on!" Lilith's voice resounded through the echo.

Angel made a frustrated grunt, forcing herself off of me and snapping he fingers to rematerialize her armor. She then looked back to me, aggrivation heavy in her eyes. "We'll finish this later!" she grumbled, turning from me, snapping her fingers once again. I then felt a tightening around my body as some strange fabric wrapped around my body. "I already got you your armor, by the way..." Angel said with anger welling up inside her.

"Thank you, my lovely..." I said, walking quickly to catch up to her, pulling her into a hug that surprised her. She let out a soft sigh at the comforting embrace, running her hand over the 0 on my chest.

"Just don't forget to make it worth my while..." she said in a low wisper, leaving condensation on the side of my newly digistructed face plate. She then placed her hands in mine and her eyes began to glow as her wings projected behind her. A blinding flash filled my eyes for a few moments as we were teleported to the Raider HQ, now standing in the middle of the building among our now confused comrades.

"The situation?/ What could be so important?/ To interrupt us?" I asked, my tattoos glowing through my armor.

"Uh... Well..." Gaige replied, pointing out the window with a fearful look. I stepped over to the window to stand next to her, noticing something rather strange.

Maya and Axton were walking away from the teleporter, laughing to themselves and holding hands. I displayed a question mark, turning to the Mechromancer. She just shrugged, confusion on her face. I then turned around to the rest of the team with the same question mark on my face plate. Everyone shrugged in a similar fassion; all except for Angel, that is...

Angel, you did this?/ Why set them up together?/ What is your reason?" I asked, still projecting the question mark, walking up to her as she began to blush.

"Well... Axton was getting a little too familiar with me, so I asked Maya to get his attention... Then you hit him..." she rambled, her bluch intensifying. I silently raised my hand, quieting her before I pointed to the window and spoke.

"Tell me your reason/ I don't like being sheltered/..." I began, feeling a strange rage fill my mind as my tattoos began to glow. I looked into Angel's now terrified eyes and stopped. "...Angel... I'm sorry..." I said, projecting a sad face and taking her into a hug. I held her tightly, psychically begging her forgiveness. She slid her hands to my neck, beginning to giggle, leaning back in our hug. Our eyes met and she nodded, beginning to speak again.

"I set them up together because I was tired of seeing them dancing around one another! I wanted them to just get it over with and stop acting like children!... So when Axton asked about us, I set the plan in motion... I used the opportunity to get them together and then used the looming threat of you becoming jealous to coerce them into staying together and getting to know each other while they hid from you." she explained, tapping her hand up against the side of my face plate as she stepped past me and into the center of the group of vault hunters. "Now... I've invested a lot of effort into this plan, so if any of you screw it up..." she addressed the rest of the room, stopping to point at me. "...And none of you will ever see or hear him coming... You'll just feel his blade slide through your flesh... Am I clear?" she continued, her tattoos lighting up with fury. Everyone in the room nodded in terror, even Brick was afraid; though not of me, of pissing off Angel and of what she could do! After the affirmitive response, her eyes softened and she turned back to me and smiled again, walking over to the window and waving me over. She then tapped into my mind. "What are they saying?"

"They're retelling stories from before they came to Pandora... Did you know that Axton was a sergeant?" I replied curiously, listening to their conversation with ease (Without the use of my new powers). I turned to her and saw a condescending look in her eye. "...Right...Sorry, Angel..." I replied, projecting an exclamation point before turning back to the window.

With Axton an Maya

External Perspective

"So... You really were a military man, weren't you?" Maya asked, smiliing as she looked into Axton's eyes.

"Yeah... I had a 10 year career... before I was sentenced to firing squad, that is..." he said with a slightly less cocky attitude, holding up his dog-tags. Maya looked down at them, feeling her playful attitude sink at the sight of the wedding ring with them.

"So who was she?" Maya asked starkly, her eyes growing thick with a sense of disappointment.

"Her name was Sarah... and she was one hell of a woman... Always kickin' my ass back in line... But... Let's just say that orders seem both more and less important at the same time when they come from your wife..." Axton replied with a low, reminescient voice. Maya looked away for a moment, feeling a slight pain in her heart. "...I can't say that I really miss anything other than the sex though... She always was a bit of a bitch... But I guess back then, I needed a bitch to keep me in check..." Axton continued, recapturing Maya's attention and slightly agrivating her with his comment.

"You ass... I should've expected something as shovenistic as that to come out of your mouth at a moment like this..." she commented, punching Axton in the shoulder lightly.

"Yeah, well... I like to keep the show going, ya' know?" he said with a lowered form of condescention. He then noticed the mild blush on her cheeks and decided to act a little less cocky. "Anyway, enough about this interesting soldier... Anything that you wanted to talk about; you've been rather quiet..." Maya froze, her eyes wide with surprise and her blush intensifying through her make-up.

"Um!... No!... I mean... not really... I just wanted to make sure that you were alright after that KO Zero gave you..." she replied, panicing sligtly at his yielding of the conversation, Her cheeks turning a rosey color. "...Well... I guess... That wasn't the only reason... I did enjoy hanging out with you... And..." she stuttered, averting his eyes.

Axton then took her hand in his and spoke softly to her as he raised it from the bench. "I can tell what you're gonna say... and I'd like to do this again too... And if you'd like, we could even call it a date!" he said with a cocky sounding voice. Maya blushed, smiling as she recoiled her arm for a swift punch to Axton's temple when he spoke again. "Just joking, Maya... But we can do this again if you really want to..."

He then got up, taking the now stunned siren's hand and kissed it gently before putting his hands in his pockets and strolling away. After about two or three seconds, she snapped herself out of her daze and stood up, chasing down the contented commando and grabbing him by the shoulder. "You don't get to charm a Siren and just walk away..." she said in a low voice, pulling him off balance and into a kiss. The now frozen soldier slowly readjusted, closing his eyes and sliding his hands up to around her waist, beginning to kiss Maya back. They lasted like this for several moments before breaking away, their eyes now in a sultry dead lock.

"Well... That was actually unexpected. I- OW! Damn it!" Axton began, getting another punch to the shoulder by Maya. Maya chuckled, walking away with a slow, confident swing in her hips, causing Axton to stare.

"Stop staring at my ass, Axton... Or I'll phase lock you for the rest of the day!" she said in a teasing voice.

"Oh, you know you like it!" he shouted after her, crossing his arms.

"Maybe... Care to find out?..." she said in an even more playful tone, turning to the commando and staring into his eyes, flashing a glimpse of her siren power in her eyes.

"Oh hell yeah, I do!" he shouted, taking off after her, catching up in only several seconds. Maya giggled, tripping him up with a swift kick to his ankle. He then dropped to the floor, rolling into a crouch next to her. He looked up into her eyes, smiling with intrigue as he jumped up, lifting her up from the ground and carrying her off back to the fast travel station, where they disappeared from.

Zero and the others then turned away from the window to all stare at Angel, who was wisteling as to deny their presence.

"What?... Okey, fine! I shouldn't have played match-maker! But look at them! They're actually having fun now!" she said, growing defensive. Zero then began walking up to her, projecting a smiley face, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okey Angel/ You are right that they're happy/ Just don't force these things." Zero said in a soft, synthesized voice. Angel nodded and grinned at him before hearing a heavy thump off in the distance accompanied by a yell in pain. The smiley face on Zero's face plate disappeared and he displayed an exclamation point. "...Nevermind..." Zero commented, turning back to the window.

Maya was standing over a now dazed Axton, breathing heavily, covered in blood. "Never... Again..." she said in a stressed voice, dragging Axton by the arm towards Zed's clinic, closing th door behind them when the siren passed the door.

"Well... at least it wasn't Maya that hit him... he just dropped... Right?" Mordecai asked, confused.

"It's unclear." I said in a quiet voice, taking Angel's hand and beginning to lead her over to the balcony. She looked out and nodded, wrapping her arms around my neck. I then scooped her up into a bridal carry and hopped up onto the roof of the HQ, starting to sprint towards the clinic. In less than several seconds, we arrived, pushing the door open enough to step in before closing it tightly again.

"Maya?...What happened to the two of you?" Angel asked, stepping to the worried looking siren.

"We were heading to the Wildlife Exploitation preserve when Voracideous just jumped out of nowhere... We barely escaped..." Maya said, her eyes an empty sea of fear and despair. She looked over to Axton, who was now conscious enough to start groaning in pain.

"Ugh... So much for a nice first date, eh Maya?... Ow..." Axton said, wheezing out a shallow laugh, holding the gause that covered a large gash in his chest.

"Shut up and lie down, idiot. You need to rest..." Maya said in a facade of confidense. Angel rested a hand on her shoulder, handing her an insta-health vial, nodding over to Axton. She then turned to me, gesturing over to Axton and tossing me a vial. I nodded, walking over to stand at the lide of his cott.

"Whoa, hey now! Thanks for your concern, Zero, but I'd rather someone else do it this time. I displayed a question mark, taunting the commando. "Oh, don't give me that! I know you understand me!... Now let Maya do this one... she feels pretty bad..." I nodded to him, stepping away and handing the syringe to Maya.

"He wants you." I said in a soft voice, taking her by the shoulder and helping her stand up. I then walked her over to Axton's bedside.

"Hey, Beautiful..." he said, smirking up at the siren that I was escorting.

"Quiet down you idiot... You're still bleeding..." she giggled, stabbing the large syringe into his calf muscle. He let out a sigh in pain, the strange pink liquid filling his veins. He then sat up, the wound closing before our eyes.

"You should be a nurse, your bed-side manners are impeccable!" Axton replied sarcastically, sitting straighter, ripping off the tattered remains of his shirt with one strong pull. Maya's eyes widened at the sight of his muscular chest, her gaze being drawn to his eight pack. "Yo! Eyes up! Mine are right here!" Axton replied, chuckling at her response. She steeled herself, returning her eyes to his, swollowing hard.

"Let's leave them alone for a little while..." Zed commented, opening the door to the clinic, leading Angel and I out. Just as I closed the door, I turned around to catch a glimpse of the two of them sharing a kiss. The door closed and we all walked over to the HQ, Zed still with us. This attracted attention, Zed almost never left his clinic, he would have stayed in there even if a corpse was contagious; he just didn't leave! We all walked in the front door simultaneously, catching Tannis' suspicions.

"_Doctor_..." Zed said venomously, locking into a glare with the unstable woman.

"Hello, cadaver jockey, cut up anything interesting lately?" Tannis retorted, crossing her arms.

"Easy, everyone... We're just here to report back to Lilith." Angel mediated, pushing Zed up the stares to end the conflict.

"So, how did it go... Wait..." Lilith asked, hesitating when she noticed Zed with us. "...Did those idiots die on the opporating table? Zed, we've been over how not to do surgery!"

"No, no... they're just having a bit a fun in one of the beds, is all..." Zed commented, pointing to his clinic.

"Oh... Ew... I didn't need to know what they were doing, just that they were alive and not undead... Now I need to go take a shower..." she replied, shuttering and walking off to her room, closing the door behind her.

"Well... Now that those images are burned into our minds forever... What else should we talk about?" Mordecai asked, dropping into his chair, a fresh bottle of Rakk Ale in hand.

"How about strategy?" Angel asked retorically, snapping her fingers, activating the hologram. "We've got to get a plan underway."

"So, shoot, Hyperion..." Brick chimed in, cracking his neck.

"Well, the new devices will be finished and digistructed to each of you in about an afternoon, beyond that, we've pretty much got nothing."

"Unless you plan on releasing the Seraphs on the planets, there's nothing else on the Pandora besides us that could even remotely stand up to the corporations..." Mordecai added, taking a swig of his ale.

"That's actually not a bad idea... Think about it... Hyprious may be mad with power, but he is so mad that he would never break order of command... And Master Gee is so protective of nature, all we need to do is tell him that the other corporations would rape the planet and kill off anything that didn't work..." Angel replied, rambling off to herself.

"This plan's dangerous/ Angel, I will help you, but.../ There's no going back..." I said with a conserned voice, projecting a sad face.

"Thanks, Zero... And I know this is an ambitious plan, but we'll need anything that we can get a hold of for this one... Otherwise, we're not even going to slow them down..." she replied, smiling confidently at me.

"Mordecai, Brick... Fill in Lilith... We're going out to talk to Hyperious. Salvedor, get a hold of Axton and Maya when they're done at Zed's, then gather everyne in the center of town..." Angel said, taking my hand and walking with me to the balcony. We then jumed off, sprinting toward the teleporter. I typed in the Washburne Refinery, starting the deconstruction.

End Chapter: Some Assembly Required


	9. Starting Efforts

So... I have basically taken the initiative to work this story along as best I can without making it feel sped up or rushed... I love this story, and I could have it going for a very long time, so being that this is going to be a fast chapter anyway, I'm going to try and have it run more smoothly and quickly... Send your reviews about the turn out after this chapter and I'll read them before starting the next. I want to know if this was a good idea or if I should keep up the present speed.

Chapter 9 Begin

Character Perspective: Angel

We continued through the refinery, disregarding the loaders as they stood, never becoming hostile. One of the perks of being the sole owner... Your more mindless workers cannot even question your command... Before long, we reached the gate to Hyperius' chambers. Zero pulled out some Eridium to activate the door when I stopped him, putting my right hand over his to stop him and my left over the door control, hacking it and forcing the door open. We then just walked in casually, keeping our weapons holstered as we approached my psychotic employee.

"What are you looking at, Assassin?" Hyperius asked, lifting his fist at Zero. Zero took a step back, lifting his hands above his head as to show him that he meant no harm. Hyperius then turned, taking one look at me and immediately dropped to one knee out of respect. "Milady! Forgive me, I did not recognize you..." he said in a respectful voice, never making eye contact.

"Complete loyalty/ You were being serious/ That is impressive." Zero commented, gesturing toward me. Hyperius noticed this and lurched up, catching Zero in the chest with an uppercut, throwing him up in the air. He landed on his feet, holding his chest with his right hand, igniting his left with energy.

"Soldier! You will not attack my royal guard! If you do it again, I'll have you terminated! Zero here is my guardian and my sworn protector- as you are. He poses no threat to you or me." I said in a commanding voice, catching the attention of the hulking Hyperion soldier.

"Please forgive me, Your Grace. It will not happen again." Hyperius said, returning to a kneeling position.

"Now... I have a special order for you. You will work with me personally and aid the other Vault Hunters to take down our competitors. In other words, we're going to war with the other corporations." I said, waving for him to rise from the floor. He lifted from the floor, still looking to the ground, averting my gaze. Zero then turned to me, standing up again and flashing a smiley face to me.

"Now that that's over/ Angel, let us continue/ There's much work to do." Zero commented, pointed with his thumb toward the exit to Hyperius' chamber. I nodded, following him as he led us back toward the fast travel. Hyperius no longer even seemed to have anger in him, his body language did not suggest it.

Character Perspective Zer0

I led the others to the fast travel, typing in the coordinates of Master Gee's dwelling, teleporting us there. The familiar flash and feeling of traveling up through a tunnel overtook us and then released us, standing the three of us at the spawn in Hayter's Folly. Hyperius made an effort to walk ahead, killing anything that even looked at Angel funny. I managed to keep up my strength by defeating the few pirates that he didn't punch into paste. We easily forced our way through the Skags and Crystaliscks, reaching the gates to Master Gee's quarters and hacking our way in. Master Gee turned sluggishly toward us, scratching his head.

"Yeah? Whad'ya want? I'm very busy…" he asked, cracking his neck.

"We're here to warn you/ Pandora is in danger/ You can help save it." I said sternly, walking up to look into his masked face. His eyes widened beneath the fabric and darkening that disguised his features.

"And what's that?" he replied, his voice turning hard and crisp.

"The Corporations/ They're coming to wipe us out/ And to rape this world." I said in a heavily angered voice.

"If that's the truth, then I've got no choice but to join you… By the way, who's your friend?" Gee said, his voice softening.

"I'm Angel. Nice to meet you and welcome to the Pandora Defense Force." She replied, holding out a hand to the tall, Rat-like man. Gee cautiously accepted, sliding his hand into hers, his yellow eyes glowing with confusion.

"Now let's get going/ We must start preparations/ For the next battle." I interrupted, pulling Angel away slightly, causing Hyperius to growl in anger. Everyone then nodded, turning from one another and following me back to the fast travel.

We traveled back to Sanctuary, surprising the residents with our guests as we made our way through town to the HQ. We entered the HQ, eliciting a response from Tannis when she looked up from her desk. "It would seem as though you two were successful, impressive. Your diplomatic skills shall prove valuable in the future." She spoke dismissively, aggravating Hyperius slightly, until Angel noticed this and placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. Hyperius released a slight sigh, hiding his protest from his master.

Angel then sighed lightly, removing her hand from Hyperius' shoulder and sliding it along her thigh and into mine. I turned to her, taking her hand and turning back to Tannis. She said nothing as she stepped closer to the two powerful beings standing next to us.

Contact the others/ Tell them about what we've done/ And to meet us here." I said, pulling Angel away from the group, leading her back to a corner to teleport back to our hidden home.

"What was that about, Zero?" Angel asked, confusion in her eyes.

"I'm not comfortable around strangers. I'm not sure that I can trust those two… My comrades and I defeated them in the past, so I'd expect them to be bitter…" I replied, willing my armor to change into a thin shirt and cargo pants as I sat down. Angel sat down across from me, transforming her armor into a soft tee shirt and skirt with stockings.

"Well… They're here to help, so you have nothing to fear from them… Besides… They're not here now…" Angel said, slinking along the ground to sit between my legs, her eyes playful and her tattoos turning pink.

"You are indeed ravenous, aren't you?" I asked, sliding a hand to her cheek.

"Only because you showed me what it felt like to be in love…"

"You mean because I showed you what it felt like to make love…"I replied, pulling her up into my arms, positioning her in my lap.

"Semantics…" she whispered, lifting herself to kiss my cheek, right next to my lips.

"Then I can guess that your body has already betrayed that logical mind of yours?" I asked, already knowing the proper response.

"How about we share Psychic Suit connections and you can remove it and check for yourself…" she said in a lusty pout, rubbing my slightly excited shaft with her hand.

"I would love to, but our friends will return in several minutes…" I tried to interject, my will to resist slowly fading.

"They can bear to wait for a little while…" she said, finally kissing me, lightly and intentionally grinding her flower against me, releasing a sigh.

"Before we continue, what is the real reason behind this all of a sudden? You can now resist the 'Heat' and you weren't even slightly sensual until we were here…" I asked, confusing her slightly.

"You really are a strange man… Your lover is _in your lap_ and you ask why… *Giggle* You really can be impossible at times, Zero…" she answered, a light whisper filling my ears. Her smile widened as she continued to giggle, continuing her response. "I wanted to celebrate our plan's success up to this point…" she finished, kissing me again. I now gave in, calling her into my mind to allow our suits to bond. After several seconds, the room became filled with a dark pink color as our energies lit up its interior, then everything turned black and my senses numbed.

In a few moments, she and I stood in the Dojo that was the inner workings of my mind. Angel and I stood in the middle of the Dojo, her in the same kimono, myself in my usual helmet, only coupled with a fabric suit that fit slightly looser than my ordinary clothing choice.

"Well… were you expecting this to happen?" Angel asked, blushing slightly as she realized what she was wearing.

"To be honest, no, I was expecting this to be as easy as speaking a command word in one another's minds… But I guess nothing is ever simple…" I replied, walking around the dojo casually.

"As much fun as it would be to be able to control your suit, I don't have the patients for this sort of expedition right now… I just want to be with you…" Angel said, walking up to me and whispering into my ear sensually. I just chuckled, taking several steps back from her and snapping my fingers, ending our dream.

We arose from the floor; Angel resting on my chest before she lifted from me and crawled over top of me, her eyes enthralled in mine.

"The clothes. Lose 'em…" She suggested, causing me to grin softly up at her as she positioned herself above me. "…Now!" She demanded, her eyes igniting with feral rage and desire as her power fluctuated. I wagged a finger playfully to her, pushing her lightly off of me with my other hand.

"Now, now, Angel… You know better than to take that tone with me… For your disrespect, you will now be taught a lesson…" I whispered in a deep, stern voice, standing up before her.

Angel's only response was a breathless, aroused "Yes!" before she fell forward and held softly to my ankles, looking up to me with pleading eyes.

End Chapter: Starting Efforts.


	10. Impending Assault- Fulfilled Desires

After receiving some very nice and long awaited feedback, I have decided to continue with the story exactly as planned, no delays, complaints, or regrets! I'm going to finish this story if it kills me, I owe that much to you all! Enjoy Chapter 10: Impending Assault- Fulfilled Desires. It is going to contain a very large amount of sexually explicit content, but I think you all can handle that…

On With The Show!

Chapter 10 Begin.

Character Perspective; Zero.

Angel now sat at my feet, her suit turning to liquid at her knees and her eyes pleading me on as she began to pant in arousal. I snapped my fingers, causing my suit to slowly fall free of my body as well, only it stopped at my waist, causing Angel to pout slightly.

"Don't cry, my pet, good things come to those who wait…" I said in an endearing voice, sliding my hands to her shoulders. She smiled lustfully up at me as my grip tightened. I then pulled her to her feet, staring into her eyes deeply. My hands slithered about her back to rest at the back of her neck and lower back. I pulled her roughly forward into a kiss that forced her to gasp before she released a mumbled sigh and melted into my arms. Her hands now found their way to the back of my neck and she deepened our kiss by tilting her head and opening her mouth. I slithered my tongue into her mouth, intertwining it around hers and pulling her tighter around me, forcing her soft breasts against me. She released a squeak of enjoyment as her fingers dug into my neck slightly. Suddenly, I moved my hand to rest under her bottom and lifted her into a bridal style carry and walked with her still in-hand to the bed, letting her down gently over top of the soft sheets. After releasing my grip of her, I leaned back, snapping my fingers to finish dissolving my armor. Angel watched impatiently, struggling to resist her urge to touch herself.

"If you can last long enough, you will be rewarded handsomely…" I said in another whisper, placing a finger on her lips. I spoke with such a soft voice that she gasped, her mouth opening slightly. Taking advantage of her moment of confusion, I slid my finger down her face and again stopped at her clavicle. I then leaned over her, taking the other side of her neck into my mouth, biting into the soft skin. She released a groan of ecstasy as my teeth dug into the weak flesh, torturing the nerves beneath. Her arms took hold of the back of my neck again, holding me tightly as her muscles tensed and weakened with the pressure of my teeth. I pulled away, offering a soft lick at her now darkening skin, making her moan with desire. She reluctantly allowed me to stand up again, her eyes focused on me intently. Her breathing was no longer light or quiet but strained and loud, her chest rising and falling in a fashion that I found quite pleasing to the eyes…

"You… are… enjoying… this… aren't you?" she panted, sliding her previously splayed legs up and down the calf muscle in my left leg in a wanton manner. I simply grinned down at her silently, slipping my hand under her lower back. As I pulled her up into another kiss, her pleading core rubbed roughly against my thigh, forcing another breathy moan from her lips. The path that her flower took up my leg was coated with a fine trail of her desires, rapidly cooling in the open air. I chuckled light-heartedly to myself mere moments before our lips crashed together and she forced her tongue into my mouth. I could feel the pulsations of her core against my leg as we continued our kiss. My free hand took to her cheek, sliding down her chest to the soft valley between the softer mounds of skin on either side. I then deviated from this respite, taking her left breast into my right hand and kneading it lecherously, forcing out another airless groan from her. I opened my eyes to observe her face; her eyes were closed and her features were tightened into a slightly pained expression that fluctuated sharply with each of her heart-beats. I released her tongue, sliding my lips down her chin back to her neck again, resuming stimulation. Her hands held to my neck- same as before, however, she tilted her head back and released another moan as her pink tattoos now glowed brightly enough to envelop the crimson haze of mine. I now pulled away from her heavily purpled skin, lowering her back to the bed, her sodden flower pedals seeping secretions into the sift fabrics. She looked up at me with half-lidded and glazed eyes, spreading her legs o show me her swollen core. I took hold of her thigh, pushing her legs down to the bed and fell forward to rest my lips mere inches away from the pulsating flesh. She sighed repeatedly as my heated breath reached out to her uncontrollable desires, making the pedals seemingly twitch and contract after each buffeting wind. She never said a word, but her eyes pleaded me onward, calling out to my own desires in incomprehensible ways. I again felt my tattoos burn against my muscles; forcing heat all throughout my left side. Just before I leaned forward to begin ravaging her impatient flesh, a new idea resounded through my mind…

"Angel…" I began, looking up into her tearing eyes as she fought the urge to force herself upon me. "…Show me… What it looks like when you treat your own desires…" I whispered, leaning back from her pulsating core.

"No… I…" She panted, arcing her back with anticipation. "I… Can't… It's too embarrassing!" she continued, hesitantly sliding her hand down her torso, stopping in between her naval and her flower.

"Do not feel embarrassed, My Angel… We have already shared our minds and bodies… But I will not force you, you have a right to refuse- it is your body after all…" I said, looking into her eyes with an understanding gaze.

She perked up slightly, smiling back with a loving look in her eyes. "Thank you, Zero, but I'll do it… Only for you…" She said with a cute smile. I smiled back at her, reaching out a hand for her to hold. She took my hand and pulled me down to sit next to her, staring into her eyes. "Okay, Zero, I'm only going to do this once… So pay attention…" She whispered sensually, rolling over on the bed and repositioning herself above me so that her dripping flower was directly above my face. She then plunged her fingers into her flesh, causing several drops of her nectar to fall onto my face, rolling to my mouth.

Angel began to whimper quietly, sliding her fingertips in and out of her body's opening and further exciting me. "You… See?..." She asked in between moans of pleasure, peaking over her shoulder slowly. Soon, her whole body began to twitch and shake as the pulses of pleasure took a toll on her resolve. I then acted, lifting myself up from the bed and licking around her fingers, alerting her to my advances… She willingly stopped her self-induced pleasure to allow me greater access, dropping her hand from her flower and then moving it to the bed for added support.

My tongue sunk deep into her pedals, feeling the heavy pulsations of her uncontrollable lust and need. I fluttered my tongue over any part of her narrow channel that I could reach, which was about four or so inches into the sodden weave of flesh and nerves. Her body shuddered at the sensation; her every muscle beginning to fail as she slowly lowered herself to the bed over top of me. I gripped to her lower body, holding tightly as I pulled away and slid to be about half-way to her face. I then rolled us over violently, causing her to let out another heavy moan when her flower rubbed at my lower stomach. She now sat submissively on the bed, her arms above her head and her legs splayed slightly. She was now blushing heavily and her lower body was drenched in secretions that clung to the skin and started to cool in the air. I leaned back into her sodden flesh, burying my tongue in it yet again and forcing out more moans that just continued to grow louder and louder…

"Ze…ro… Please… I ca… I can't take it… Anymore… Please! Make love to me, Zero!" She shouted, holding to the back of my head.

"Yes, My Love… I will oblige you for your patience and endurance…" I commented, wiping my face of her sweet nectar. Her telepathic voice then pierced my mind softly…

"If I'm your flower… Is love making pollination?" she asked with a flirtatious voice, her eyes opening just enough to lock to mine…

"I suppose it is/ Though it's a little different/ Now prepare yourself…" I replied ominously, taking hold of my shaft and placing it at her entrance. I then kissed her passionately, still holding myself outside of her. Several moments pass as our lips and tongues tease one another's, further increasing Angel's arousal. She released several breathy moans into my mouth, soon forcing me into her as a burst of pleasure surged through her body when my hand slid to her breast and fondled her pink, erect node. I grunted as the sensation of her flesh overtook my feelings of desire and self-restraint. Angel dug her nails into the back of my neck and my shoulders, causing me to create another grunt in ecstasy. We broke from our kiss and she pulled herself into a tight hug around me, biting my shoulder to muffle several exceedingly loud moans. I pulled the two of us up to sit together when her wings formed behind her, fluttering back and forth slowly in shaky, jumping movements as they faded in and out of existence.

"Zero… I'm so happy!" she gasped, her voice a mere squeak among our noises. She again tightened around me, though not with her extremities, with her insides…

"Zero! I'm… About… to…" she screamed out, her eyes over flowing with tears and a small amount of saliva escaping her mouth.

"I feel it, Angel/ You can let yourself go now/ You've endured enough…" I said, pulling her into another kiss to muffle her loud climax. Her insides continued to tighten, almost as though her flower was trying to completely conjoin the two of us… Then, a rush of hot, over flowing liquid came out of Angel's folded, pulsating flower. Moan after moan buffeted my throat, echoing in my mouth and dissipating into silence as she completely released her frustration. Her physical release continued for another few seconds, engaging mine as well. I sent waves of vigor into Angel, intensifying her finale with my own. Her every muscle soon gave in to motionless and she fell backwards onto the bed, her eyes devoid of anything aside from relaxation. She looked over towards me, her hazy eyes taking on emotion to greet mine.

"Zero… Thank… You…" she panted, kissing the side of my face, smiling faintly.

"You are welcome… Now… After you recover, we must catch up to our allies…" I said with seriousness. Angel nodded, sliding closer to me and resting her head on my chest. She did not fall asleep but she was very relaxed. Then, the silence was pierced by a loud, thunderous noise and Sir Hammerlock's voice.

End Chapter 10: Impending Assault- Fulfilled Desires.

Well… I hope you all liked this… I know that too much of this isn't very good for the story, but I felt that one every once in a while was worth it… See you all in Chapter 11: The Journey.


	11. Starting The Revolution

So… as several of my close readers have requested, I am beginning work on chapter 11… I hope to hear from you all who are reading, I look forward to the feedback.

Chapter 11: Starting the Revolution. Begin.

Angel and I sat on our bed, caressing one another for several minutes as our glowing tattoos illuminated the very slightly lit cave interior. Angel and I turned to one another and she smiled at me, nestling into my neck and sighing with satisfaction.

"And what should we do next, lover? …Should we go meat up with the others, or stay here…" she asked in a lusty voice, her eyes teeming with desire.

"I would enjoy nothing more than to savor my moments with you, Angel, however, we are needed… Come…" I replied, sitting up in bed and snapping my fingers to materialize my new suit and stand up. Devoid of energy due to her level of sadness that we were leaving our bed, Angel slowly followed, dressing herself in her armor as well.

"I have heard rumors/ Of another Vault Hunter/ you hear anything?" I asked, turning to Angel as we stepped toward the door of our concealed abode.

"Just that he's even less sane than Salvador…" she replied, her eyes full of curiosity. "…Why ask?" she continued, her eyebrows contorting with even more confusion.

"I wondered how valuable an asset this new arrival could be… or if they would endanger our mission if they came along…" I replied, pushing the button to release the lock and open the door. We stepped out and the camouflaged door resealed itself behind us. Just as we embarked the short walk to Raider HQ, the Echo came on and Lilith began screaming at us to get there quick. When a loud crash was heard, the feed ended. I turned back to Angel, who was cocking the bolt of her favored rifle, her wings illuminated behind her. Her gaze met with mine; she then nodded at me and we began sprinting toward the HQ with unwavering vigor as to understand the new situation. I activated my stealth and approached the front entrance carefully as Angel entered through the balcony. I peered down the scope of my rifle, slowly taking in the scenery of the interior; nothing seemed out of place at the ground level, so I headed for the stairs. I stepped silently and with swift, long strides up the stairs, soon being rushed by the sound of Angel's voice permeating the walls with a loud, ear-splitting scream. I felt my blood boil in every inch of my body and started up the stairs with blinding speed. I reached the small room that adjoined the main command station and could not contain my fury at the sight before me.

A man, rippling with the musculature of a Bruiser and the florescent yellow pants of a Psycho with tufts of white furs at the ends of them was standing motionless in the center of the room, his back to me. I studied the intruder for several moments, taking into account the ticking away of remaining seconds in my Deception; it took a mere instant for me to recognize the scene playing out before me. This man held in his heavy, thick arms, Angel. She was fighting desperately to escape, her tattoos glowing almost bright enough to blind as she dug and gouged at the solid muscles of her assailant. I pulled out my blade and dashed toward the man that wore a plate of steel over his face, slashing with all my strength at his shoulder as to sever the arm that bound my precious Angel and grant her freedom. By blade swung, blue followed… but no red, metallic smell of blood followed the strike! It was impossible! My swing was blocked! I was forced several feet back, my stealth now gone as I stared straight at the new monster of a man. His one visible eye looked to my face plate and seemed to soften with glee, as he removed his right arm from Angel's neck and inspected the damage to his bandit Buzz Saw. There wasn't even a nick in the already tortured, fractured and jagged blade. He let out a heavy, echoing laugh that was almost too loud for Angel as she tried to turn away from the front of his mask.

"…*Laughter*… Wow! You almost cut my arm off! Good job, Zero! Now light the fuse and show me your real power!" he challenged, his eye gleaming with joy at the newly implemented standoff.

"Let her go…" I snarled, my hands igniting with fiery energy and my tattoos shining through my suit. His eye widened at this sight and he again laughed loudly, tossing Angel to Lilith who stood with her tattoos flaring on my left.

"Alright, Assassin! Come on!" he shouted, his eye glowing a demonic yellow and his right arm growing thicker as the left thinned and shrunk. Soon, he resembled a Badass Psycho. I didn't have time to be captivated by his transformation (Unlike our spectators), he was currently my enemy, and he would be dealt with accordingly…

He made several grunts as his body changed and his uncovered eye closed momentarily. When it opened again, I was gone. He looked worried for an instant before his eyes settled upon my decoy and he began slashing and screaming wildly, his buzz saw creating explosions whenever it hit the simulated flesh of the hologram. I stepped to the side, awaiting the last crucial moments of my Deception and lunged. My blade was narrowly dodged by the small metal plate that covered his now crippled left arm. The sound of bone breaking echoed from his arm as it recoiled from the impact. He regained his footing and looked down to his now fractured arm: He began to laugh insanely again, putting away his buzz saw and pulling out several pieces of dynamite and chucking them at me. One by one, I cut the fuses away from the burning sticks, letting them fall harmlessly to the ground as the flames burned out in mid-air. He then pulled out two more sticks and lunged at me with a new resolve, blood rolling slowly down the front of his mask. In one fluidic motion, I side-stepped his lunge, spinning around him and cutting away the fuses of his remaining dynamite sticks and kicking him in the ribs as I now stood beside him. He collapsed to the ground, a torrent of blood gushing from under his mask as his eye now looked distant and dark. I stepped over closer to his side and knelt down to sit, my blade still at the ready as I pulled an Insta-Health from my storage deck and buried the syringe in his calf. I noticed that his arms returned to normal and his breathing seemed to ease slightly before he lost consciousness.

I turned to the onlookers and took Angel angrily and began to leave with haste before stopping and turning to Zed. "Keep him under…" I said swiftly, leading Angel out and slamming the door behind us. I lead her back to our underground home and slammed that door as well. I then felt all energy leave me and sat heavily down on the bed, my hands on my helmet.

"Angel… I've failed you…" I said in a defeated voice, pulling my sword from my belt and tossing it off into the nearby chair.

"How?" she asked, her eyes turning fearful.

"I couldn't protect you… You were nearly killed buy that madman and I was only barely able to stop it…" I said, my voice growing even softer and my head sinking deeper into my palms.

"But I wasn't… That proves that you've done your job…" she said smoothly as she stepped to my side and sat down, resting her arm on my shoulder.

"That doesn't rectify the fact that I wasn't prepared enough…"

"You're one man, Zero… You can't be everywhere at once! You've done your job… I'm safe now… and it's all because of you!" she purred, kissing me lovingly on the side of my pace plate, leaving a peach colored imprint on the glass. After her words, I felt my strength return and I forced myself off of the bed and retrieved my sword hilt and headed off toward the exit to the cave. I turned back to Angel and nodded to her, she reciprocated the gesture and made no effort to stand up as the door opened and closed and I left, trekking off to Zed's clinic to check on the 'patient'.

I opened the door and stepped through, walking wearily toward the table where the mysterious newcomer was laying, restrained-heavily. He was now conscious and looking around the room patiently. His eye met with me and followed as I approached, casually looking up at my helmet, his eye full of jovial curiosity and whimsy.

"The newcomer?" I asked, gesturing to the restrained man with a nod.

"I got a name, pretty boy…" the monstrous humanoid chuckled bitterly.

"Which is?" I asked curiously with venom seething in every letter.

"Krieg…" he replied. Even though his face was covered, I could tell from the sound of his words that he was grinning insanely beneath his mask. "…Nice to meet you…" he said in the same smug voice.

I didn't reply, I simply turned my gaze to Zed and he sighed tiredly, beginning to speak.

"Now… I know even less 'bout this guy that I do about you, Zero… He's somethin' else… I mean… sure, he's human and all that jazz, but he's been changed on the genetic level… I just don't know what to make of it…" he said in his familiar faint southern drawl.

"Does that mean you've seen enough to let me out a these cuffs?" Krieg asked impatiently.

"No." Zed and I replied simultaneously, turning our attention to him with menacing presence. Even he, with his obvious insanity was deterred by our display of anger and ceased his struggling against his bindings.

"Alright… You guys obviously don't like me… so I'll make it up to you all… How 'bout I give yous guys all a my money from bounty huntin' and I treat yous to drinks?" he asked with the same smugness.

"And how does that prove/ To myself or the others/ That we can trust you?" I asked, crossing my arms at my chest. Krieg just shrugged to the best of his ability and his eye softened.

"Alright… so… that wasn't my best idea… But I'm not your enemy here… Now I heard 'bout your mission to kill off the other comp'nies… I want in!" he remarked, lifting his head from the iron slab with shackles just enough to look at Zed and me. Zed and I shared a look of annoyed agreement and made a decision. "So… What's it gonna be! Am I gonna have to bust my way outa these cuffs and escape from this flyin' hunk a junk or are you gonna let me outa here and let me help?" he asked impatiently, the veins in his arms popping out as he began pulling and bending the heavy bindings. I nodded to him and he stopped his struggle, allowing me to unlock the shackles.

He lifted from the table and dropped down onto the floor, cracking his neck and back. He then reached into his storage deck and pulled out a wad of money, holding it out to me. I displayed a question mark and looked up into his face plate.

"What? I told you I'd pay for drinks… I was serious… I never joke 'bout gettin' shit-faced!" he replied merrily, slapping my shoulder. I shook my head and walked off toward the door, gesturing for him to follow.

I led him through the center of town and back to the HQ, messaging Angel telepathically on the way. We walked in through the front door, not even eliciting a response from Tannis as she worked to herself. We continued up the stairs and into the command room. Lilith and Mordecai were the first to realize that the two of us were at the door. They almost reacted but held their responses as they realized that I was nearly impossible to surprise and did not show any signs of hostility toward my follower. Brick was a different story; when he lifted himself up from the floor, he nearly charged the tow of us, teetering on the brink of cascading into a rage and punching at us violently.

"Slab! Why the hell is he with you?!" he shouted, pointing at Krieg as he walked casually to the couch and sat down next to Mordecai.

"He wants to join us/ He's bad with first impressions/ Because he's an ass…" I replied, displaying a smiley face to the confused and frustrated berserker.

Several seconds passed as Brick processed the new information. His scowl loosened slightly and he lifted his hands and slapped me on the shoulder. "Shit! I like him already!"

Brick then stepped past me and held out a hand to the new arrival. Krieg accepted the gesture and shook Brick's hand, squeezing the Berserker's hand with enough force that we all could hear the nuts and bolts in his gauntlet begin to crunch and creak. Brick laughed and pulled the bandit outcast up to his feet.

"Ha! I really like this guy!"

"Then you'll love me after I buy yous guys all drinks!" Krieg replied, eyeing the larger man. Brick let out a hearty laugh and released his hand, patting him on the shoulder.

"Ah… Alright… I like you, Slab… Just don't start with the girls, or I'll have to kill you… We cool?" Brick asked, his smile fading slightly as he looked down upon the brute of a man. Krieg nodded, then thought to himself for a second.

"Yeah, I'm down with that, Brick… Just one question though… What if one of 'em comes onto me?" he asked smugly, forming a grin beneath his mask. Everyone in the room aside from myself let out a loud, uniform laugh that temporarily deafened Krieg and me for several seconds.

"Okay… First of all… Angel is Zero's girlfriend, and they literally cannot be separated… Maya's with Axton… And as for me; Hell no!" Lilith said in an amused voice, walking over to Krieg's side and patting him on the shoulder lightly. "…Oh… and don't even try for Gaige… That girl will have her robot tear you up and spit you out before you even came close enough to touch her…" Lilith continued, taking a seat on the other side of Mordecai.

"Yeah… And Moxxi wouldn't even take you on…" Mordecai said in a nonchalant voice, cracking a grin.

Several Hours Later; Moxxi's Bar.

External Perspective.

All the Vault Hunters were gathered in a booth at the far end of the bar, exchanging stories about what they would like to do when they got off of Pandora and started their journeys toward the other super corporations. Angel was sitting safely against the wall on the inside of the booth, Zero protecting her from the newcomer. Axton and Maya were sitting next to them, filling up the remaining half of the seat. Salvador was sitting against the wall with Gaige next to him and Krieg on her other side. Despite the level of mistrust that the others felt towards Krieg, Gaige was unperturbed, and was in fact, drooling over his musculature. Her eyes were glazed over with lust in a manner very similar to Angel's when she couldn't control herself. Krieg was sitting with his mask raised, revealing the bright, white grin that had been previously covered and allowing the others to inspect his face better. His other eye possessed a pupil that was perpetually larger than the other due to years of seeing nothing or night. He sat patiently as he waited for his 'friends' to finish their round… when he noticed that Gaige was hopelessly entranced by his Adonis-like muscles, her intoxication apparent in her actions. As soon as he got up from his seat with the tray of empty bottles, Gaige boldly took hold of his waist and tried desperately to hold him there, only succeeding in making him laugh as he pulled her effortlessly out of her booth and dragged her casually down the aisle to where Moxxi was filling up drinks. Moxxi filled up the tray with a new round of Rakk Ale and sent the psycho on his way, giggling to herself when she noticed the young girl being pulled along like a puppy. Everything was moving along smoothly, when, just before Krieg could sit down after placing the ales down, he began to shake and scream violently, his eyes turning a blood red and his muscles straining to maintain their current form. His eyes returned to normal and he shook his head quickly, as though purging himself of a strange malevolence that manifested at that particular moment.

"Ohh… Sorry 'bout that, guys…. That was one of my episodes… Happens every once in a while… I've got a few buddies along for the ride…" he said casually as he helped Gaige up to the booth seat, wiping some saliva from his pants.

As the night went on, Lilith and Brick walked in and saw the way that Gaige was hanging all over Krieg's shoulders, drooling even more. Brick was angry momentarily before he realized that _Gaige_ was all over _him_, not the other way around, he then nodded, paying Krieg the credit he was due… He certainly had game… Brick began to laugh when he noticed the aggravated expression on Lilith's face and pulled her over to an empty table and grabbed some chairs and brought them over to the outer end of the booth. Before the night was over, Gaige was going to end up doing something stupid and be completely coherent while doing so…

In several moments, Krieg got up and retrieved a few more drinks and distributed them to those that wanted them.

"Gaige… You can stop now…" Maya commented telepathically, gaining the young girl's attention.

"I know… But I just can't seem to want to let go of him…" Gaige replied, snuggling into Krieg's shoulder. Axton then grumbled something or other about how this new guy had better luck with girls than he did. Maya heard this and responded with a swift elbow to his ribs. Gaige then turned to the rest of the group and spoke more clearly than one would have expected a girl as inebriated as her to have sounded. "Krieg and I are going to spend some time down at Hayter's Folly… Don't wait up…" she said. When Krieg tried to object, she just glanced up at him with the eyes of a little girl asking her father for an ice cream cone at the fair, and he just couldn't say no to her…

End Chapter 11: Starting the Revolution.

So, what did you think, Good? Bad? What have you? Anyway… Send in some feedback and I'll try to use it… See you later…


	12. Firestorm

So… I didn't get too much in ways of feedback when I comes to the last chapter, so I'm going to advance the story anyway… And regardless the poll results… I'm going to make the next chapter a romantic scene between Gaige and Krieg… and if you guys don't want to read something like that, I'll write this chapter so you can skip it without missing out on the story… Enjoy!

Chapter 12; Firestorm. Begin.

Character Perspective: Krieg.

This drunken girl led me sluggishly to the fast travel station, casually looking back at me as though I would run away… Now… I'm not exactly a gentleman, but I wouldn't refuse a lady… provided they were old enough to make the right decisions… As I reasoned to myself why I shouldn't take advantage of Gaige's drunkenness, an all too familiar voice echoed in my head…

"You should make her scream until she loses consciousness and eat her other arm so she has two robotic ones!" it shouted insanely, its voice resembling that of a psycho bandit.

"No… I can't do that to her… She would never get close to anyone ever again… And I left all that behind when I got outa that prison…" I reasoned to the voice in a strong tone.

We continued on to the station for several more moments before Gaige spun around and narrowly escaped losing balance, falling into me. She again snuggled into my chest and her face turned hot and red.

"Mmmm… Krieg… What do you think of me?" she asked in a very provocative voice. She opened her eyes and looked up to my face, pushing my mask up to see my true face.

"Well…" I began.

"Tell her you want to tear her insides apart with your - The voice interrupted.

-No! Stop talking!" I shouted inwardly.

"But you know you do! You can't lie to me, remember? You know you want to shove it so far into her that she rips apart! Now! Tell! Her!" It continued, gaining volume.

I dropped to my knees, clutching my head and grunting in pain as I tried to overpower the monster inside my mind. Gaige seemed startled slightly by this and her grip on my stomach loosened a little. She then tightened and began to rub her face into me even more, causing me to open my eyes, seeing her smiling face.

"I can tell you're fighting with your inner voices… And I know how hard that can be… But don't give in to them… You're good deep down, I can tell… Don't let them take that away from you…" she whispered, kissing the side of my face, causing me to tear myself away from the pain to stare at her. The pain stopped and I looked deeply into her glazed green eyes.

"Thank you…" I replied, pulling her up from my lap into a hug, taking in her scent. She smelled of booze, obviously… but beneath that was the subtle smell of Motor oil and dust… and beneath that was an enchanting smell… I enjoyed it a lot and sat there with her in my arms for what felt like hours, just enjoying the smell that I couldn't recognize. I pulled away from the hug, looking into her eyes again, beginning to speak.

"That smell… What is it?" I asked in a low voice feeling lost in her green stones of eyes.

"You can smell my perfume? I can only smell motor oil most of the time… It's the smell of lilacs… they're a flower that used to grow on Earth… When the planet went to hell, they moved the seeds of all living plant species to new worlds to grow… one of them was my home world, Edin-5…" she replied in a voice that seemed too coherent for a drunk girl. "…I really do miss my old home… but I like it here just as much… It's so exciting here! The last time I had so much violent fun was the last time I was on my home planet and killed a classmate of mine…" she trailed off, her eyes seemingly distant as she broke eye contact.

"I said it before, but thank you… I feel a lot better now… Let's go…" I said, lifting the two of us up from the pavement and walked into the fast travel station, activating it and preparing for the transportation. Gaige looked over to me and winked just before the world around us turned to the digital lights and tunnel-like energy of the network. The world came back together and I looked around, noticing the water all around us… My eyes widened and my mouth fell open at the sight of so much flowing water on Pandora. Gaige giggled and pulled out her pistol, her eyes instantly turning slightly insane as she slowly marched off toward the opening to the cave. I followed her, pulling out my shotgun and turning on my shield. It wasn't much, but I'd managed to find an old Hunter's Shotgun that still worked quite well, and found an Order Shield on a bunch of dead guys in Sanctuary before going to the Crimson Raider Base. Gaige noticed my lack of equipment and laughed, tossing me a pistol that very closely resembled hers but had a scope.

"Here… It's an Infinity Pistol… Never reloads, never runs out of ammo… Just point and shoot…" she said with a grin. I looked down at the pistol with amazement before holstering it.

"Not to sound ungrateful… but… I prefer to cut people up instead of shooting them… Got anything for that?" I asked, pulling out my buzz axe and pointing to it. Gaige just giggled and tossed me a pistol with a huge blade on the end of it.

"I recognized the shield you're wearing… Zero wears the same one… You're gonna need that…" she giggled, pulling out her Infinity pistol and continuing walking toward the cave entrance. I inspected the pistol in my hands and pulled up the digital info on both it and my shield. I read them and immediately smiled brightly, flipping down my mask and beginning to laugh maniacally, still following this odd girl. I caught up with Gaige and pulled out another of my old, favored weapons; an Eridian Thunder Storm Blaster.

She marveled at the alien weapon as we slowly continued, observing the strange shape and design. I looked to her and said;

"Never reloads… Has to recharge though… Although… You could use it more than I could…" I said, tossing the ancient energy weapon to her and pulling out another shotgun to take its place. "The projectiles naturally bounce off walls and objects, so with your skills, they'll almost always find a target…" I said with a smirk, now taking the lead.

We soon came across a Badass Bandit dressed like a pirate, spewing some nonsense about the desert and cannonballs. I just went into my Blood Axe Rampage and split him right down the middle with one swing. I looked over my shoulder at Gaige, her eyes were wide and her mouth was open slightly out of surprise, but soon she pointed to something behind me. I turned around and saw another Pirate cocking his rifle, beginning to fire at me. My shield quickly crumbled at the strain of the powerful exploding rounds and I felt a surge of power as it did. I lunged at him without hesitation and swung my axe at his face. He reacted just fast enough to block my attack with his rifle. The Torgue Machine Gun snapped in half at the force of my axe, falling to the ground in pieces. I laughed maniacally again, swinging my axe around again at his shoulder, again, he dodged. He ducked just soon enough to keep his head and tried to uppercut me with his large hands; he hit. The impact was barely felt as I was only slightly pushed back, he looked up to my face in surprise at my resolve when I finally buried my buzz axe into his head, killing him instantly. Blood sprayed in excess from the gaping wound in his forehead, drenching me in blood. By now, my Rampage wore off and I put away my buzz axe and turned to Gaige with a glimmer in my eye that scared her. I walked slowly over to her, pulling up my mask and smiling. She took several hesitant steps backward, shrinking up against a wall and dropping her pistol in fear. I stepped toward her a few more feet and leaned down so that our lips were mere millimeters apart and whispered to her:

"Thanks for helping me…" I then leaned in and forced our lips together, wrapping my arms behind her lower back. She hesitated for several seconds, confused and surprised before her body fell limp and her lips began to move in mine. Her arms took to my neck and pulled me closer; she pulled tightly, lifting herself off of the ground and groaning softly in the kiss. We broke several moments after, breathing heavily and our eyes opening to lock to each other's.

Gaige whispered breathlessly, "Wow…" before lowering herself to the ground and blushing heavily. She scrambled to recover her pistol and stood up again, her blush still growing redder. I laughed loudly, turning from her and continuing through the tunnels until I came across an opening where the waters flowed out and pooled into an underground spring that flowed infinitely. My eyes widened and I began to step slowly toward the edge, peering over into the blue waters. Gaige placed a hand on my shoulder, gaining my attention; I turned to face her and she smiled up at me, nodding like she was my mother, allowing me to go play. And at that moment, I was a child; I grinned brightly, removing my mask and destructing it, I then dived into the water. Lucky for me, where I chose to dive had just enough deepness to allow me to dive without killing myself, but I definitely cracked up my head a little…

I resurfaced, clenching my forehead with one hand, laughing at myself as Gaige laughed at me as well.

Two Hours Later…

"…So there I was, spattered in the little bitch's blood and organs… Just standing… I wasn't traumatized or anything; just standing… Then… The judge grades Deathtrap as second Place! …I mean… Hello! He just turned Marcy into meat paste! He not only did what he was programmed to do, but also got rid of the competition! I'd call that a job well done wouldn't you?" Gaige asked calmly. I just laughed, finding her story hilariously ridiculous.

"…*Laughing*… Ah, yeah… I'd call that a win!" I replied happily, smiling at her.

"Thank you! Someone who understands! Ugh! It's so frustrating dealing with people who think you're insane all the time! …Oh… uh… Sorry…" Gaige commented, her eyes locking to mine as she spoke, regretting her choice of words.

"Nah, don't worry 'bout it! I actually am insane! It doesn't offend me one bit!" I then slid my hand to her mechanized one, when they met, she blushed and kept talking for a bit longer.

"Oh, yeah… that… You're probably curious, right?" she asked, a slightly redder blush appearing on her face.

"Not really… I've heard a lot about you Vault Hunters… Especially about you and your giant robot…" I replied, smiling devilishly. Gaige again blushed and tried to avert her eyes. I realized that she felt a little uncomfortable and decided to change the subject. I leaned in and whispered in her ear. "…So… Do you think your arm that can break concrete can stand up to me?"

She lit up with excitement, standing up and pointing down to me, a wide grin across her face. "Damn right, it could!" I grinned at her as well, flipping down my mask and standing up to loom over her.

"Then let's go test this out…" I replied, taking her hand and leading her back to the fast travel station and punching in the coordinates for Sanctuary. Within moments, we were off to Claptrap's, forcing the annoying robot to hold up a piece of concrete above his head. The little machine shivered with fear as I wound up, charging my right arm with energy and expanding it to be the same proportions as a Badass Psycho's. I swung down with my arm, fracturing the concrete and letting out a sigh of content when I changed myself back. Gaige just stared on with a blank face.

"H-how? …How could you do that with just your hand?! You shouldn't even have any bones left! That was impossible!" she shouted in disbelief, pointing at me.

"Experiment, remember? I'm not exactly human any more…" I replied with a large grin. She shook her head; shaking off the confusion and igniting a determination that only made me feel more competitive as well.

"Fine! Then let's see what you can really do! You and me!" she shouted, cracking her knuckles.

"Duel? Fine, But we're gonna have a fist fight, no weapons allowed." I replied, taking off my mask and destructing it away. Gaige grinned and summoned Deathtrap, taking several steps back, I looked to her with a look of betrayal.

"I thought you knew! I never fight alone; I've always got my buddy Deathtrap with me! If you can defeat him, I'll admit that we're equals…" she giggled, taking a seat down next to a still panicked Claptrap. I grinned, pulling out my buzz axe and refastening my mask. I charged the massive machine, swinging my axe right into its shoulder. The axe buried in the metal and the machine didn't even react. I slashed at me with its huge claws, gashing my chest. I was pushed back, pulling my axe from the metal simply me the sheer force of the hit. I ran at it again, this time tearing a hole through the thing's eye, forcing it to release a loud, gurgling grunt and swing blindly at me. I dodged every strike accept for the last, having a piece of my shoulder torn out by its immense digistruct claws. I struck it one last time and effectively tore it in half, forcing it to destruct and fade away. I turned to Gaige and began to walk toward her again, still holding my buzz axe in my right hand.

"Okay! You win! You're stronger! You can stop now! No! Stop!" she panicked, backing up to another wall, trying to protect herself. As a repeat of the last time, I leaned in and whispered to her again.

"Then show respect for your greater!" I then ripped away my mask and again took her lips for my own, pressing her tight to the wall. Her fear melted away as she began to enjoy the kiss, her eyes rolling closed and her hands again taking to my neck. I backed up from the kiss and waited for her eyes to open. "Does this mean that you accept me as your master?" I asked, looking intently into her now glazed eyes.

In a mousy, wanton voice, she replied. "Y-yes!" and pulled me back to her and kissed me.

End Chapter 12: Firestorm.

So… How was it? Let me know what you think! Send me any feedback that you think I should know about. Alright… See you guys later…


	13. Impending Assault-Command and Conquer

I decided that since I have a bit too much time for my liking and can't do very much else, I should start up chapter 13 as soon as possible and get it out to the readers quickly. So… to those of you that liked last chapter; you'll hopefully enjoy this one as well, but it does contain a raunchier feel to it than anything else that I've posted before, so if you don't want to read, just skip it… I won't blame any of you… And before anyone decides to chew my head off… Gaige is 18! Trust me! I did an extensive amount of research about each character prior to even creating this story…

Chapter 13: Impending Assault-Command and Conquer. Begin.

Character Perspective: Krieg.

Everything that stood between Gaige and me and her apartment was little more than a blur of shape and slight color as I carried her on my shoulder like she was my possession, with her positioned on her stomach and facing with me, her arms holding to my chest for support. She playfully swung my buzz axe in her right hand and slowly kissed my neck every couple steps. I wasn't running but to say I was taking my time would be wrong. She used the buzz axe to lead me toward the door of her apartment, her hands taking hold of my pecks every once in a while as she kissed my neck. We soon crossed paths with the rest of the Vault Hunters on our way there…

"Well, you two seem to have grown fond of each other quickly…" Maya remarked, a slightly condescending grin on her lips. Axton stifled a chuckle that rapidly faded to silence when he saw how serious my eyes became…

"That's what happens when someone chooses to accept you as their master…" I replied, grinning at them.

Maya looked at me blankly, then to Gaige for confirmation, which she promptly gave.

"Yup! He defeated me in a test of strength and defeated Deathtrap in a melee fight… He has proven himself stronger than me, so I accepted… He's actually pretty nice once you get to know him…" she said with a grin, stroking my chin and removing my mask. I looked up to her and smiled again, chuckling lightly at her playfulness.

"See?... She accepted when I asked her to recognize me as her master, I in no way forced it on her ... She wanted me to take Deathtrap's place as her ultimate protector… So she joined under my rule to guarantee my service…" I said smugly, glancing back to Maya as she grimaced.

"I understand why you would accept, I really do… But… Gaige… That's not how things like that work… Uh… He's going to… uh… well… Maya, you want to take this one?" Axton replied, his tanned face taking on a slight red as he explained.

"Uh, okay… Um, Sweetheart… We're afraid he's just trying to take advantage of you… Like…" she began, blushing as well, her eyes intentionally staying from meeting mine out of fear.

"…What… fuck me?" Gaige interrupted, her eyes staring blankly at the older woman. "Well… You can be assured that it is going to happen-consensually…" Their mouths agape, Maya and Axton just stared at my little Anarchist as she continued speaking. "Now stop treating me like a Goddamn Kid! I'm 18! Been that way the entire time I've been here! So just stop!" she shouted, her voice growing impatient and aggravated. I patted her on the head in the gentlest display of affection that the others had ever seen from me, soothing away her frustration and walking past the two others.

We eventually also crossed paths with Zero and Angel as well; a less casual encounter as Zero was still mistrusting of me and stood so tensely at the sight of me with Gaige on my shoulder, that he practically had to have Angel stop him from fighting with me on the spot. Angel blushed at her boyfriend's forwardness and allowed us to continue with no incidences, turning on Zero with disappointed eyes as Gaige and I left. I had to fight the urge to laugh at the sight of arguably the greatest assassin in all the known galaxies being scolded by a young siren like he was her child and he stole a cookie from a vender. Regardless the humor, it was the last thing on my mind, and from what I could tell, Gaige's as well…

We finally reached the door of her apartment and I waited for her to open the door. When she panicked and dropped the key, I kicked in the door and forced it shut again, throwing her down onto her bed, and walked over to her, ignoring everything else. She stared up at me with big, pleading eyes, her arms above her head in a submissive position after she'd finished removing her denim jacket and tossed it to the floor. I then began removing the pieces of equipment that altered my body and walked closer to the edge of the bed. Small scars covered my arm where the needles of the injectors sat in the skin, and now that they were taken out, droplets of blood were forming and rolling down my arm slowly. Gaige looked up at me with half closed eyes and smiled, breathing deeply as I moved to now stand only inches in front of her legs as they dangled to the floor from the edge of her bed. I leaned down and took her shoes off slowly, trying not to tear them or hurt her. When they were removed, I pulled down her leggings and skirt. She worked at her shirt and when it was off, she met my eyes again, a brighter blush on her face as her breathing now accelerated. I leaned down and wrapped my arms around her lower back and pulled her up to my face, whispering into her ear…

"Would you like me to take you like a trophy or a lover?"

Immediately after those words, she inhaled sharply and released a soft moan of anticipation; she leaned back and opened her eyes again, staring deeply into mine.

"I want to feel like you'll always be there for me… Protecting me… so no one else can have me…" she said in a soft, beckoning voice, sliding her hands up to my face.

"Then I'll treat you like you're mine…" I replied, leaning in and kissing her jawline softly. I then slid my hand to her shoulder, slipping the upper bra strap off and licking down to where it was previously, gaining a soft sigh from her. I then slipped off her other one, this time biting down on her shoulder, forcing a groan of enticement from her lips. Next, I slid my hands up to behind her head and gently pulled out the pieces of metal that she used to suspend it in pony tails. I tossed them away with one hand, slithering through her hair with the other, causing her to smile faintly. I pulled her up into a position where she and I were both sitting on our knees and slid back a few inches. Gaige removed her bra slowly, as though she was in a burlesque show, entertaining an audience with her seductive motions. When her bra fell off, she tossed it away, immediately covering her thin frame with her forearm and wagging her finger at me teasingly. I smiled at her devilishly and leaned forward, taking her lips with my own and holding tightly to her shoulders with my hands. She released her concealment of her chest and worked at our lower clothing, skillfully removing them without difficulty, giggling when she say the lack of underwear that I wore beneath my thick, yellow pants.

"Well, what did you expect… Underwear isn't exactly easy to come by, if you hadn't noticed…" I grumbled, moving my lips back to her neck and teasing her nerves again. She let out a louder moan than before, holding tightly to my neck and lurching her head back. I pulled her to me, now positioning myself at her opening, feeling the desire that she'd endured, but she wasn't quite ready yet… I then took myself in my hand and pushed down, so that I now pressed beneath her entrance and began to thrust. She let out moan after moan of arousal and tightened her every muscle to hold me tight. A torrent of fluid seeped from her and covered me, alerting me to her readiness. I repositioned, looking into her eyes and took several seconds to wait for a response. She nodded, barely opening her eyes enough to see me. I pressed myself in, causing her to dig her nails into me as her metal hand dug in and cut me. I let out a grunt of pain; feeling energized by it, I continued the rest of the way into her body, causing her to dig in even more and excite me further. Her pain subsided and she loosened her grip on my back and neck; however, I was far from ready to give up on that much pain… I pulled her to face me and kissed her sternly, biting her several times and drawing blood. The metallic taste only made me crave more power; power that she would willingly give me without hesitation… or so I thought. I now began to move inside of her, causing her to gasp heavily and again dig her nails into me. She leaned forward and rested her chin on my shoulder, moaning repeatedly and holding to me even tighter. Her body was so warm to the touch that it felt that she would begin to light up the room. Her legs had long since repositioned to hold to my hips and were now constricting me as I continued a rhythmic, forceful pace. I then pushed us forward, landing with myself on top of her as she still struggled to readjust to the new feeling that she was experiencing. After several seconds, she rolled us over and pushed herself up to begin a riding motion, her hands planted on my chest firmly. I chuckled heavily, taking hold of her hips with my hands and using my thumbs to rub the soft skin that was between her stomach and where we were interconnected. This sudden, strange motion caused her to open her eyes and slow her movements down enough to allow me to regain control and push her over onto the bed again. She let out another moan of both surprise an enjoyment when she hit the bed.

"Naughty. Naughty, little girl… You just had to challenge your master… Well… Here is your punishment…" I said softly, holding her down with my hands and beginning to pick speed and violence. She screamed with pleasure, lifting her back from the bed. I then reached over to my digistruct module, and pulled out my Infinity Pistol and fired off a round. I caught the spent casing and tossed the gun back to the device, destructing it again. I pressed the still burning round against her neck, where the neck met the shoulder; she let out a scream of pain combined with ecstasy at the burning feeling. My hand was burned as well, causing me to grin down at her and again quicken my pace. Next, I punched a hole into the wall, making her inhale sharply and moan again as my hand began to bleed without my device. After a few more thrusts, we both lost all energy at the same time and fell together onto the bed, completely incapable of moving.

"So… Are you going to question my authority again, Little Girl?" I asked, panting heavily and looking to her.

"Yup! That was too much fun to not do again… And I didn't know you were into little girls, perve…" she replied, pulling a blanket from her bed to cover us.

"Shut up…" I said in a raspy, tired voice. "…Anyway… Should I expect to ship out tomorrow with you guys or am I just gonna sit her the whole time?" I continued, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her to rest in my arms.

"Donno… Maybe everyone will let you come if you promise not to break things?" she asked more than replied.

"I guess I could do that, but the trip's gonna be pretty weak…" I replied with a grin.

"I gathered that much… They won't even let me let out DT while we're in town anymore…"

"Ha! What did you do? Accidently blow up another person?"

"Uh… Yeah?" she replied, blushing slightly. I released a hearty laugh and rubbed her back softly.

"Ahh… Thanks for the laugh… You really are predictable…"

"Really… WANNA TEST THAT THEORY?" she shouted, forcing her way onto me, pressing her forehead against mine.

"DAMN RIGHT!" I replied, wrapping my arms around her and pulling the sheets overtop of us.

End Chapter 13: Impending Assault-Command and Conquer.


	14. Invasion

I'm very pleased that so many of my readers are checking out the last chapter… I can only hope that you all have at least attempted to read the last installment… And that's perfectly fine that you only got so far… That's exactly why I wrote the last one as I did…Now… Without further delay… I give you all still tuned in Chapter 14!

Chapter 14: Impending Assaul-

"Impending? Screw That! This is happening Now! And if you argue with me, I'll introduce you to my Secret- Punch you in the Face 'till you die-Fighting Style!"

What? Damnit, Brick! Get out of the Chapter Intro!

"No way, little man… I'm the one in control here! Now do your writing thing and put us in the actual campaign, or I'll beat you to sleep and write this story myself!"

Ugh… Alright… We're apparently skipping some parts and going ahead a little to a few weeks in the future… Bear with it, everybody…

External Perspective

The Vault Hunters sat in the main command room of a large cruiser that was created for stealth by the Hyperion Developers and created for use strictly for Angel and the other Vault Hunters… All other replicas were put under lock down and were inaccessible to anyone aside from her. The Cruiser itself was rather small when it came to living space but made up for the small quarters with a massive, indestructible training room that was connected to a command room that was equally as sturdy. Inside these two rooms were several parts of machinery that were designed to hunker down into a single, protected escape pod that could be used for either a safe exit strategy, or a single, well timed incursion that could not be stopped. Most of the hunters would lounge about in the training room when they had nothing to do; hence them usually lounging in the training room… Krieg and Gaige sat on the withered couch that sat in the far side of the room- the same couch that used to sit in the Crimson Raider Base… They sat, hopelessly bored, watching bad shows that were loaded into the main computer from before the trip off- world (Nothing else was available due to a strict 'no radio contact of any kind' rule that was put into effect the moment the ship went off-world). There was also whatever old show Gaige had managed to sneak on in her Echo, which were mostly animes that were rather silly and only served to confuse Brick whenever he tried to watch them. Most of the other members of the group rather liked them and instead preferred them over the old, really outdated cartoons that were on the mainframe. Zero liked Full Metal Alchemist because it reminded him of some of the more or less enjoyable jobs that he'd had over the years as an assassin, Axton also liked it because it was similar to his life; how for him, life always seemed easy but challenging in a strange way… Maya liked the Gurren Lagann Series because it put things into perspective… Was there really some driving force that made all life strive to live out its own set, often self-destructive, path? Angel preferred Samurai X because it featured huge amounts of character development that made her feel very hopeful for others, while others like Krieg and Tina just liked heated, bloody, gore-filled-albeit censored- action series like Bleach, Samurai Jack, and Yu Yu Hakusho. The rest of the others didn't much care for television and would usually spar or something… Zero and Mordecai, within about a half an hour of climbing onto the ship found the firing range and were testing whose skills with a rifle were better. Lilith, Maya and Angel would often find slightly quiet or predictable places to practice with their Siren powers and strengthen their influence with them. Zero was never far away and was usually there quickly after to offer pointers and teach them new ways to use their abilities. Brick and Krieg would get into boxing matches- to their dismay, a winner could never be decided due to their skill… every fight ended with then both simultaneously being knocked unconscious and trying again several hours later after a good- if not somewhat forced rest… The couples of the trip would periodically get up and disappear for hours at a time, and when this happened, it was usually easier on everyone's morale to just ignore it. When it came to Gaige and Krieg, everyone ignored it that is… Angel and Zero were a different story- everyone accepted their love and supported it- from what they'd seen, Zero may be cold and distant to most people, but he was everything but when it came to Angel. When she needed something – anything, he opted to help; when she was in danger of any kind, he appeared first to protect her with every fiber of his being; when she wanted affection, he offered it, and as a result, had even broken Haiku in front of his allies a few times – just for her; and when she needed… things… they were off faster than anyone could realize what happened.

Maya and Axton would have spats of childish banter, usually ending in a kiss to Maya when she actually became angry. It took a lone time, but Maya eventually fell for the soldier, and now, whenever they argued, Axton would go with it, just to rile her up, then kiss her so strongly that she would freeze and lose all feelings aside from love, thus – ending the argument. No one knows if they've 'been together' yet but to Zero and Angel – who both remain tight-lipped – it is well known. The two are now close enough that their energies as living beings can be seen by Zero, and it seems to twirl and mesh into forms of strange attraction that the Eridian Assassin cannot determine to be anything aside from emotional soup – most humans are strange beings to him and he prefers to spend his time with his Angel.

Lilith's broken heart has been rekindled by the hope that Roland can be brought back to her and she now just sits on the couch and watches an old cartoon called Tom And Jerry – Roland pointed it out to her in their vault hunting days – and she rather enjoyed the silliness of it. Frankly speaking, save the times Tina had convinced her to play games with her, it was one of the few times she seemed to visibly relax while in the presence of anyone other than a siren or Zero. When not practicing or challenging with Zero, Mordecai would spend his free time on the couch and drink with Salvador, often ignoring the surrounding world and finding a moment to himself. Just like with Brick and Krieg, Zero and Mordecai would always match perfectly in every shot – the epitome of marksmanship – and would always tire one another out in melee combat as well, never being able to call a winner. However, as the final shot rings out in the range, the two long-range lobotomizers would turn to one another and would shake hands and would walk away. Fights between them would last hours as the skinny, practically emaciated hunter didn't look like it, but was virtually tireless – very much like Zero, and every strike the two would take at another would be blocked by the other. There was never a hitting blow and every strike was too fast or precise to dodge. Angel and Moxxi – despite her contempt for the hunter – would find themselves hopelessly enthralled as they dueled and the moment that the snipers concluded, their respective women would drag them away to some private place and they would not return for hours… Gaige, when not watching some obscure show, would usually play video games and sit on the couch like she was incapable of any motion aside from her hands. She could usually coax some passers-by to play with her when the desire kindled to play something with others

All in all, with the exception of now being on a ship instead of living on a flying city, life for the group was almost exactly identical to how it was before. Krieg was the only one actually affected by the change, being a native to Pandora, the reformed bandit wasn't used to traveling off-world and if he wasn't doing something, he would be forced to sit, jittery and confused, desperate for some sort of stimulus. To his joy and that of the rest of the crew, Gaige often found ways to keep the unsettled psycho from sitting idly for too long, usually setting him into a frenzy of confused anger, causing him to challenge Brick to a fight. He would gladly accept and the two would once again fight until neither of them could continue.

The overall repetition of life on board was little less than maddening for the occupants of the ship, nothing changed from day-in to day-out. But alas, this was the lives of the vault hunters on their voyage… Until one day…

Zero and Angel were sitting on the couch, watching some interesting show regarding a rabbit that would frequently outwit a duck and lead him to less than ideal situations because of it. They and Gaige and Krieg were sitting in the relaxation area and were then shaken from their leisure by a loud boom followed by the sounds of metal and sparks. Whatever was making that noise was not going to work out a friendly solution; and everyone on the ship knew it. Without even saying a word, Gaige and Krieg split off from the others, going directly toward the noise as to cause the biggest distraction possible and to see exactly what was going on. Zero and Angel were more subtle and found several air vents to move through. Zero pulled out his Hunting Rifle and began searching every air duct, looking into the rooms all around for information. In nearly every room on every floor accessible to them from their current location, nothing seemed out of place, not a single object moved, not a door closed to hide behind. The sounds of crazed laughter and screams filled the vents in which Angel and her sworn protector traveled. The duo of death-crazed fighters offered the perfect distraction for the stealth force, creating such a noise that it coaxed footsteps from the intruders. Silently, Zero telepathically contacted the other sirens and told them of the recent events and to prepare a strike team to hold a defensive line at the main stairs and all other means of transit through the various levels of the ship. With the sounds of footsteps from the enemy, there was too a sound of distorted voices and heavy combat armors clanking against one another as the infantry men traveled the halls. Zero peered backward to Angel and nodded to her, telling her silently to go first and use her Norfleet Launcher to rain absolution upon the targets from above through the ventilation while he moved silently, striking preemptively and thinning the ranks. Before long, the two were separated by several meters or so and the sounds of huge explosions echoed through the ventilation as Zero continued onward, dropping behind a pair of enemies. The moment he landed silently behind them, he realized their uniforms. He couldn't resist breaking the silence with a haunting Haiku as he entered a prolonged stealth and drew his blade.

"These interesting/ Impossible uniforms…/ Greetings, Crimson Lance…" he whispered into the side of one of the Lancemen's helmets, startling the pair violently as he ran his blade through his chest. His Deception flickered as he re-entered it flawlessly, a 0 springing from his helmet as the other man fell. Before the other one could release a round, fifteen exploding kunai were buried in his chest and face, turning him into a screaming mass of acid, fire, slag, and lightning. Strangely enough, the lightning was what killed him; his hands tightening to his head as arcs of electricity flowed from it like a Teslacoil and his body shook violently. He fell to the ground as his eyes bulged from their sockets, the helmet around his face turning to burnt chunks and falling away. His head soon exploded and his eyes bounced around several times before leaving a simple, bloody pile on the floor beside the dead men. Zero displayed a question mark as he gazed down at the man, then a smiley face as he walked away, finding a new vent to disappear into.

With Krieg

The two insane fighters were dispatching wave after wave of the armored mercenaries; Gaige was using her Blockhead Shotgun and killing large groups of enemies with fire damage. She turned to Krieg and winked at him, switching to her Sham shield and then standing in the middle of the fray, laughing wildly as Krieg began to shout gibberish and swing his Buzz Axe, soon being lit on fire as he passed Gaige and she fired into his chest. He dispatched two right off the bat, his axe being thrown and buried in the face of one as he prepared a grenade, dropping it at his feet. The explosion took out the other and reignited Krieg with fire as it burned. He was soon burned seriously and fell slightly, pulling out his sticks of dynamite, throwing them one by one into groups of the armored men. He sprinted through the ranks, pulling out his last piece and jumping at the largest of the Lance forces. A huge explosion lit up the room for several seconds as blood and sinews splattered the walls and other soldiers. The remaining smoke faded, revealing Krieg, his right arm now pumped up with power and his left shrunk and twitching. The Lance turned to one another and turned back to the psycho; they ran away screaming for their mothers towards the ship they used to board and flew off faster than Gaige could send DT after them.

With Angel

She sat comfortably in a vent, blasting groups of Lance as they circled corners and entered hallways. She soon jumped down and pulled out her Chère-amie Sniper Rifle, picking off soldiers that found their way into her corridor. She soon found a rotunda and giggled softly to herself as the echoing of blade and metal filled one of the paths leading into her new place of influence. A group of about twenty Lance funneled into the room from all sides, pointing their rifles at her wearily. They soon hesitated in firing when they realized who she was, but this was short lived as they released a volley of bullets that were strong enough to punch through any shield. However, they didn't, and she just giggled louder, her tattoos flaring a blinding white and her wings appearing. She then lifted into the air, ascending higher and higher. She then pulled out her Mongol Launcher (A present from Salvador on her twenty-second Birthday) and released a volley in tandem with an entire clip from her Norfleet. The battlefield below her was only scorch marks and shaking Lance as the Shock Damage from her weapon and the sheer explosive power from the previous leveled the entire room. She lowered herself to the ground and put away her launcher, pulling out her Bad Touch SMG and stood patiently as she waited for her lover to arrive.

Zero walked silently through the door under stealth, expecting to see combat of some kind, his sword in hand. When he saw Angel standing patiently, her back to him, he couldn't resist…

"Waiting for someone?/ Or are you looking around…/ Might I assist you?" His words startled her and she spun around, putting the barrel of her SMG against his face plate faster than he anticipated. HE then displayed a smiley face and pulled the barrel away, pulling her into a soft and quick hug.

"Don't do that! I almost set you on fire!" Angel complained, regaining her composure in the hug.

"Zero remained silent, nodding and displaying another smiley face before turning and nodding in the direction of a vent. He led her in and they continued cleaning out the small groups.

In several minutes, the four reunited where they were before the attack and were talking to themselves as to plan how to expunge the remaining forces.

"I say we go for a little shock and awe!" Gaige said in a low voice, loading her weapon and then pulling out her Infinity Pistol and smirking at the others. Zero shook his head, gesturing for Angel to say what was wrong with her plan.

"We can't afford to have them able to regroup, if they run, they might not stay gone… We need to find a way to have them all group in one place and take them all out in one strike…" Angel said, speaking as Zero's conduit.

"Why wouldn't a fearful group not work? They would all be running like little girls to their ships… How 'bout we rig 'em to blow when they get in?" Krieg interjected, his axe dripping blood on the floor.

Zero displayed an exclamation point and shook Krieg's hand, nodding enthusiastically. "So it's settled then…" Gaige said as she cracked her knuckles and followed the others when they began to walk toward the door.

Zero broke off from the rest, going on ahead to sabotage the ships while the others caused a huge enough distraction to pull every troop in the entire ship to the training facility. Angel stood between Gaige and Krieg and gulped nervously as the two others killed off the sentries and took their echoes, calling the command forces directly.

"Hello! Any of you piss-for-brains their?" Krieg shouted discourteously into the device.

"What? Who the hell are you! How did you get this frequency!? Oh god… Howard! No!" the operator replied, his voice fading to sorrow and fear at the loss of his friend. "He and I were going to honeymoon on Eden Six!... OH GOD, WHY!" …Correction… Make that Homosexual Lover…

"Yeah… It's a real tragedy… He fell down some stairs and onto a set of spikes rigged up to about thirty active grenades… we couldn't identify what was left… But he wanted me to tell you that he loved you and that you shouldn't dare put on the red shorts!" Gaige chimed in, stifling a few laughs.

"He said that? Thank you… Now why are you calling, again?" he asked.

"We need you to go back to base and await further orders…" Krieg said in the most official sounding voice he could muster.

"Uhh… I'm not sure we can do that… Wha- uh… What's you Identification code?" the operator asked confused.

"My wha? Oh! It's… uh… Fish Sandwiches." Krieg replied hesitantly.

"Yes Sir! Right away, sir! *Click* ALL UNITS! The General has issued a return order! Back to the ships!" the operator replied, activating the Echo Units for all the soldiers.

In droves, the soldiers flocked back to the ships that Zero had been working to sabotage. The ships soon departed and drifted a good 100 Kilometers off before exploding violently, peppering the hull of the cruiser with miniscule chunks of metal and a few pieces of Lance Armor.

"Well… That worked…" Zero said in a hauntingly quiet and sudden voice, appearing behind the rest of the team.

"AH! Zero, you bastard! Don't scare people like that!" Gaige shouted, jumping and hiding behind Krieg as he laughed.

The four then made their way to the elevator and to their friends. Zero told the other sirens to expect their arrival and that the enemies are now gone.

End Chapter 14: Impend-… *Sigh* Invasion… Yeah, that… Whatever…


	15. Touchdown

Well… I don't know about the rest of you, but I personally enjoyed the last chapter… There isn't a lot for me to say in regards to the next chapter aside from there will be some more combat…

"And so it would seem/ That this story's writer is lazy/ I do not approve…"

Do you think you can do better?

"Indeed."

Well… There's a problem with that… something cannot create itself… creates a time paradox…

"I see… "

Now… May I continue with no more distractions?

"Hey!"

Damn it, Gaige!

Begin Chapter 15: Touchdown.

"So… They were Lance? Haven't seen those bastards in years…" Mordecai said nonchalantly as he leaned back in his chair. He tipped his head back, preparing to take a swig from his bottle of ale when Lilith passed by and took it, smiling challengingly at the drunken sniper.

"Damn it Lilith! That was-"

"-No more drinking… Not until we finish the mission… We need you in tip top condition! You and Zero are going to mainly be our eyes on the surface, being some of the best snipers in all of the galaxies…"

"Aww… You're making me blush!" Mordecai commented, leaning forward as he crossed his arms.

"So we are snipers?/ Where will we be positioned?/ This won't be easy…" Zero interjected, stepping into the center of the group, a question mark before his face plate.

"You two will set the ship down and use it as a vantage point when we rush the Atlas Info. Bunker. Mordecai will drop out when you make a pass over the bunker, then you will land it on the opposite side of the hillside…" Lilith replied, pulling up the map of the Information Storage Bunker.

"It'll be about an hour before we reach the surface and another two before we find the right coordinates on this planet, so everybody? Get yourselves prepared and meet back here in half an hour for briefing…" Angel said in a calm voice. However, despite her voice seeming calm and collected, she was so scared… Despite the portable New-U station attached to her waist, she would be far away from her protector… And if hers did fail, what would he do? The thought scared her… When Zero was angry, he was at his most lethal.

During her training as a Vault Hunter, he took her out for some sniper training. They were in The Dust, hunting Spiderants when several Bandit Buzzards flew in. They pierced her shield and all but dropped her with a few bullets. Zero saw this and went into a frenzy. He jumped up into the air and with one swing, cut one of the Buzzards out of the sky. He jumped from the burning wreckage and onto another, pulling the driver out and flying it directly into the third. Again, he jumped out and landed on the fourth, killing the pilot and hopping out, watching with cold eyes as the screams of the passengers echoed for several moments and the last of the Buzzards exploded. The blood trailing down his suit, his new markings pulsating with energy, he scared her just by turning to face her. She knew he could never hurt her, but he still scared her when he approached, even when his weapons were put away, she couldn't bring herself to look into his eyes for that afternoon; he terrified her with his lack of control.

This only happened once as she was still inexperienced and he was still her teacher. When she became skilled enough to fend for herself, he merely observed, only intervening if she were on the brink of death. When her skill achieved the level of mastery as that of Maya's, he stopped intervening completely; admiring her form, accuracy, and ability.

Recalling this event caused her to freeze in the middle of the command room, her eyes trained distantly on Zero's silhouette as he calibrated his rifles and prepared his sniper weaponry and gear. He turned to her and noticed her shaking slightly. He walked up to her and put an arm on her shoulder. She looked up onto his visor and without even giving a thought to the others in the room, pulled away his helmet and kissed him, desperate for comfort of some kind. Tears flowed out of her eyes and her voice echoed in her throat as she tightened her eyes shut to delay the burning waters. She felt her body begin to warm and her tattoos burn in her flesh as her heart began to beat faster and faster, melting away her fear and replacing it with comfort. To everyone else still in the room, this was strange for so many reasons; not only was Zero's face visible to the rest of the group, but Angel's tattoos were also not glowing pink as they usually would in this scenario- they were a bright, blinding crimson. After several moments, everyone realized that the light coming from her tattoos was getting brighter. When it became bright enough to force them to close their eyes, her voice echoed in everyone's minds.

"Never leave me…" it whispered. The disembodied voice carried every emotion comprehendible and several that were not, stunning the others with its beauty. The light then faded away and the two now stood before the others, their tattoos no longer glowing and Zero's helmet returned to its regular place.

"Okay… What the hell was that!?" Lilith shouted, walking up to Zero and poking him on the chest. Angel watched with glee at the simple exchange before intervening.

"It was the last part of the bond between an Eridian and a Siren… Our souls are now bonded and share one, powerful life force… We can no longer be killed unless both of us are killed…"

"That's cheating!" Gaige shouted, rubbing her eyes.

"No… It's evolution…" Maya replied, her eyes distant and practically empty.

"Uh… Maya? You okay? …Maya!" Axton said, startling the siren from her trance. Annoyed she turned to him and prepared a strong hit for him when she realized that in his eyes was worry and confusion. Her eyes widened again and she lowered her hand, tilting her head down in shame.

"I… I'm sorry… I don't know what happened to me… It was like I was hypnotized and couldn't break free…" she said in a low voice, still looking at the ground.

"That's because when another Siren looks that deeply into the light, a part of their soul is taken in as well… It is quickly expelled and returned, but when it is returned, it brings back with it a desire to find a soul of its own to bond to…" Angel said, looking to Maya with now golden glowing eyes. Her voice was also different than usual as well… It was the same in pitch, but seemed far away and echoing… like it was being carried thousands of miles but the sound never dissipated nor distorted.

"Angel… Are you alright? You seem… more… angelic…" Lilith said in a confused voice.

Angel turned to her and winked, cracking a grin to the older siren. Angel then gripped her shoulders and fell to her knees, moaning in pain. When the others tried to walk up to her to see if she was alright, Zero held up a hand and said…

"She will be okay/ All of you keep your distance/ She's now evolving…" Everyone looked up toward his face plate and marveled at what they saw. His body now seemed to be emanating a heat that almost overwhelmed the other two sirens, drawing them in. His tattoos again shown through his armor, but also, his shoulders and torso was on fire- energy building on the surface and causing light and heat in the form of flames.

"Z-Zero… You… you look… hot…" Gaige said in a flirty, giggling voice. He turned to her and began to chuckle, inspecting the burning on his body.

"I suppose so…" he replied, lighting up his hand and waving it out. He then looked down to Angel and knelt next to her, holding her shoulder lightly. She looked into his eyes and gritted her teethe, feeling a burning in her upper back and under her skin. Her tattoos glowed a golden hue that was slowly becoming overpowering to everyone in the room, drowning their vision of what was happening in the light. When the light began to fade, Zero was holding Angel in his arms and she was unconscious. Her back was covered by something large and white, with what appeared to be feathers on it. The others looked on in confusion at the changes that occurred before their eyes. Zero now looked to be cloaked in fire that quickly burned out and Angel now looked like a real angel that had been ripped from the heavens themselves. She soon stirred to consciousness, her eyes returning to their regular blue and her tattoos returning to normal. She looked around at her friends with confusion and slight pain, wriggling in Zero's arms. He lowered her to the ground gently and nodded to her, taking a step back.

"My… head… is killing me… Wha…what happened?" she asked, rubbing her head and stretching. When she stretched her arms above her head, however, she felt a heavy burden on her shoulder blades. She glanced behind her and noticed that her peripheral vision towards her back was obscured drastically and she could no longer see behind her. She turned completely around to find that there were two large, white, feathered objects protruding from her back. Her eyes widened when her mind finally comprehended what the two protrusions were; she had a pair of Ivory-White wings that were physically a part of her body! She reached back and felt the feathers, feeling the pull of the feather's cuticles on the new skin when she pulled at them. She stammered, failing to produce words as she effortlessly lifted the wings as though they had always been a part of her body.

"I guess this means that she's just as confused as the rest of us… Zero, care to explain?" Lilith said slowly, regaining her composure.

"The power influx/ Has altered our bodies/ And granted new strengths." He replied cryptically, igniting a hand again. A chair on the side of the room lifted and slowly began to creak as the metal withered and aged, turning the metal to dust within moments. Everyone turned at the sound and watched the chair fall to the ground in dust.

"What was that?!" Lilith asked with panic.

"Singularity/ Localized passage of Time/ A handy new skill…" Zero replied, inspecting his new power. Angel turned to him, her eyes full of wonder and glee.

"Does that mean that you can stop aging?" Axton asked curiously.

"Perhaps…" Zero replied before dropping to his knees, gripping his head. Angel looked on with curious eyes, kneeling down next to him as he did for her.

"Be-fore anyone… asks… *Clears throat* …No… I cannot change time either…" Zero replied, breaking Haiku.

"Why not?" Lilith asked, her voice growing heavy with anger at his words.

"I must not alter the timeline now that I am able to see it…" Zero commented, lifting himself to his feet.

"You self-righteous Asshole! Do you know what I've been through?" Lilith shouted, her wings appearing and beginning to burn.

"Easy, Siren…" Zero warned, his hands glowing and his tattoos illuminating.

"Lilith… He can see what would have happened if we didn't lose Roland that day…" Angel said softly, pulling Lilith by the hand to Zero, forcing her to take his hand. Images of death and fire filled Lilith's mind and she fell to the ground, her eyes wide and her body shivering.

"His life's important/ But not important enough/ To kill Pandora…" Zero said in a low voice, walking out of the room. Angel turned to the rest of their friends and said softly…

"The best thing that all of you can do for him while he adapts is to just let him be for now… I'll let you all know when he's ready for the attack…" with that, the pair walked out and into their quarters.

"Angel… Am I becoming what I should not?" Zero asked, holding his hands to his face.

"No… You're exactly who you've always been… Just try not to change…" she replied, wrapping her arms and new wings around her mate.

"I feel… strange… with all these new powers…"

"Then don't use them… Or get rid of them…" Angel said in a near whisper, snuggling into his neck.

"I already wish I could…" he said in deep thought. He then turned around and removed his helmet, staring into her eyes. His eyes were now full of a drive that she'd only seen one time before; when he was protecting her in his fight with Krieg. She stared deeply into his eyes, watching as his fires began to engulf his body. The flames rolled along his body, eventually taking to her body as well, causing her tattoos to glow and burn.

"Ze…ro… it… hurts…" she whined, gripping tighter to him for courage. Soon, the fires burned out and the two separated and stared into one another's eyes.

"There…" Zero finally said, rolling his shoulders.

"What?" Angel asked, her eyes filling with confusion.

"They're gone…" he said simply, confusing his lover even more.

"Who's gone? What?"

"My powers over time… I've removed them… they were too powerful… I could not accept them… Not now…" he said, sliding his hands to her shoulders and holding her softly. Angel's eyes widened for a moment before she realized his reasoning.

"Maybe you're right… They would have been too strong and have had too great a cost to use…" she said after several seconds, rubbing her face into his hands. Zero nodded, pulling her into a kiss, his arms tightening around her shoulders. They then broke out of their kiss, and their eyes met. Zero looked deeply into her eyes and Angel stared back, her face now flushed and her breathing fast and heavy. "M-my b-body feels so…" she began, panting frantically, pressing against Zero's chest to steady herself as her knees began to shake. "…Ready!" Angel shouted her eyes opening completely as she tackled Zero down onto the bed. She then began tearing away at his clothes as Zero looked up at his crazed, aroused lover. He then smiled slightly, releasing the armor's grip on his body, giving Angel the opportunity to tear the sturdy pieces of material away from his prized flesh.

With Maya and Axton

"You doin' alright? You've been starin' a lot lately…" Axton asked Maya to get her attention.

"Eh? Oh! Yeah! …I'm fine!" Maya replied, waving her hands and beginning to blush, closing her eyes.

"Don't lie to me… I don't need to read minds or emotions to know when there's something wrong… Now out with it!" Axton said with a glare. He then placed a hand on her shoulder gently and gave her one of his usually flirtatious winks, however, this time, it was not meant to flirt, it was almost a sign of endearment that he would show for her. She smiled at him, an almost imperceptible love blush burning its way onto her cheeks.

"It's nothing, really… I just feel… like I want something… more… More than affection and sex… I feel like I _need_ you to love me… The feeling just hit me… after I saw the light from Angel and Zero…" she replied nervously, twitting her fingers. Axton's face turned beat red as he stuttered to words, his tongue fumbling over his heart as he tried to find anything that he could say.

"I… uh… Shit…" he mumbled, trying not to hurt her as he sorted through his feelings.

"I know what you're going to say… You're not ready for that kind of commitment yet… But I am… And I can't just feel content being your playmate anymore, Ax… I need love!" Maya replied, staring deeply into his wide eyes.

"I… Ah, screw it! Come here!" Axton shouted, forcing away his doubts as he pulled Maya into a kiss. The kiss was so simple and heartfelt that Maya lost all train of thought and fell into his arms, quivering at his very touch. They remained motionless, with the exception of Maya's shivering, for what felt like hours for the two Vault Hunters before they broke from their kiss for air. Starved lungs now contented again, the two now looked at one another with passionate eyes (Axton) and confused eyes (Maya). "I'm a little shaky when it comes to love, but I think you and I are more than trusting enough with each other to try it out…" he said with a grin, winking at her again.

"A-are you sure? I know about what happened to you… and I don't want to rush you…" Maya said with worry in her eyes and wrinkling her soft features. Axton stepped up to her again, unintentionally rubbing her pelvis against his leg, and whispering into her ear.

"I'm never sure of anything… But when I make a decision, I stick with it…" he said in a whisper, causing her to release an uncontrolled moan and her breathing to hitch. Axton chuckled at her mildly, rubbing his leg into her body again to get a reaction. "I guess love is what makes you need it… Well then… Come on! I can't leave a woman unsatisfied…"

With Gaige and Krieg.

"Ugh… God Damn it! This waiting is killing me!" Krieg shouted, smashing his fists down on the armrest of the couch. Gaige smiled up at him as she was lying on him, her head on his lap, facing him.

"Well… We could always just go do something…" she replied in a teasing voice, winking at him. He chuckled, his frustration fading away and his eyes softening.

"Nah… I like to feel feisty when I go into combat… Makes the fire burn so much better…" he said, smiling at her with an evil grin. Chills shot through her body as images of their most recent escapades filled her mind. She was acting submissive that time, and he was her master… His every touch made her body ache for more of his firm discipline… She remembered how kind and endearing he could be as well; the feeling of having him gently fill every inch inside of her still played on her mind; the care and devotion he made sure to convey to her as he took her virginity and made her feel like a real woman for the first time in her young life. The burn on her neck was now a permanent scar that seemed, strangely enough, to only react to a burning sensation that only a red-hot spent bullet casing could excite. Her heart raced in her chest as she began to feel her insides moisten and her clothes begin to feel alien on her flesh. She now wanted him in a way that she'd never felt before, and as she thought about it, she realized that this wasn't a desire, it was a need… this thought played tricks on her mind as the words of Angel during her transformation echoed in her head. She felt like she would die if she didn't have him and she felt like her heart would explode from her chest if she could not have his love… But why did she feel this way for him all of a sudden? She didn't love him, they were just partners and sex friends… Why is this happening to her now? Then the true words played through her mind… Others that watch too intently at the light will feel an overwhelming urge to find love… But wasn't that just for sirens? No… It was playing on him as well… She could feel his eyes as they rolled over her slender body, he was watching just as intently as she was when the explosion happened, and he was certainly not a siren…

Krieg watched his young mate inhale and sigh to herself, her legs rubbing together as though she were trying to hold something inside herself. He grinned at her, sliding his hand to the base of her neck, teasing the numb scar as she panted almost inaudibly. The scar was numb to his touches, but she was feeling like she was about ready to jump him and tear away his pants to claim him as her prey. Despite the fact that she couldn't feel anything that his fingers did to her neck, watching him do it was agonizing for her as images and feelings of the burning and tingling reverberated in her mind. She eventually let out a soft moan, accidently calling the others on the far side of the room to glance over. They quickly turned away, but the blush on Gaige's face did not fade with their eyes. She lost all reason and took Krieg's hand and dragged him off to her room, slamming the door shut as they completely entered. She turned around and snapped her fingers, forcing a magnetic energy into the key to the door, tossing it up and having it stick to the metal ceiling. Krieg chuckled, beginning to take off parts of his device and sit down on the bed; he knew that for just this once, it would be best for his health if he played the submissive.

Gaige approached him, placing her metal hand on his shoulder, causing him to drop his grin.

"I… n-need… to know… d-do y-you… lov-ve m-me? She stuttered, her eyes glazing over with lust and her mouth curving into a kind smile as her eyes started to burn.

"I'm not sure… tell me what it is and I might be able to figure it out…" he teased. Her eyes started to water and she started to slump her shoulders, turning from her acting slave. "…H-hold on! Don't cry, I was just kidding! I thought you were playing! I am not entirely sure whether I love you or not, but we can find out together if that's what you want…" he said in a softer voice, placing a hand on her shoulder. She looked up into his eyes and her eyes stopped burning; instead they filled with a tingling that caused tears anyway- but these were tears of joy. She smiled happily at him and he did the same, pulling her into a hug and walking her over to the bed. They did not have sex that evening, they just took a nap, cuddled in each other's arms as they waited for the ship to land and their plan of action to be set completely.

Two Hours Later, The Command Room.

The Vault Hunters all recollected in the main room, under the atrium that led to the central computers.

"Okay everyone, this is it… Make sure your weapons are working properly and we'll tell you guys the rest from there…" Lilith said sternly, placing her hands on her hips as the group checked their equipment. "Alright… these are the final plans… Brick, Gaige, Krieg, Salvador, Maya, Axton and I will be the frontal assault. We will be on the north side of the structure-here. Zero, Angel and Mordecai? You will be our sniper support. Between the three of you, nothing will touch us… When we reach the entrance, you all will travel around the sides to the other entrances and take out any guards along the way… Mordecai will be here. Where he will circle around to this entrance. Zero and Angel. You two will be exactly opposite him on this side. As we make our approach, you two will be moving to cover us with fire and move in closer to your point. When visibility cuts out, run. We're going to need you two inside the bade before we can even make it to the door so Angel can unlock it from the inside and shut down the defenses. Okay… Any questions?" She asked, pulling out her Hellfire SMG. "No? Good. We will be Fire Team α. Don't forget that. Mordecai will be Ghost, and you two will be Shadow Team. Now everyone: Stay alive!" Lilith finished, walking the first team to the cargo hold and activating the cargo elevator.

End Chapter 15: Touchdown.

So I have hopes for this chapter… I enjoyed writing it a lot, and I hope you all enjoy reading it as well! Let me know what you all think and what you would like to see inside the facility, I'll try to make things interesting for you all by incorporating some of the ideas I get from posts. For now, it's on to my D&D story while I do some research on Mass Effect to learn what I've forgotten since my last play through. Bye everybody!


	16. Dropping in on Old Friends

Sorry for the long wait everybody, got side tracked by D&D and some other stories…

Chapter 16: Dropping in on old friends. Begin.

Character Perspective: Zero.

We all waited in the hanger; Angel's Phase Shift allowing her to remotely land the ship. She stood alongside me, her eyes glowing a brilliant gold as her mind delved into the code and information of the ship's on-board computer. Her holographic representation flickered on the screen as every system yielded to her will. I slid my hand in hers and sighed deeply; I was less than excited to have her in harm's way again… She looked over to me and smiled faintly, her glowing eyes dimming as the ship jerked downward toward the surface.

"Alright people, get ready, this isn't going to be easy…" Lilith said in a commanding voice. The ship touched down and the hanger door opened, allowing the assault team to make their approach. Mordecai and I began to fire pot shots at Lance Troopers as they made their rounds at their posts, clearing the path for the team. Angel kept us steady and simultaneously fired down on a large group of troopers with an elemental sniper rifle, picking some off as they began to retaliate. We eventually dropped Mordecai off and continued on to my and Angel's drop zone as well; I was still taking down several troops as we passed. We were there in a matter of moments and jumped out of the back hanger; Angel hacking the Auto-Pilot to land the craft several meters away from us as we made our sneak attack. None of the Lance saw us coming before it was too late and they had a sward in their chest or a bullet in their brain; we were very efficient together. Angel flew tremendously fast, nocking several Lance to the ground or taking their weapons and hacking them to explode as she doubled back to drop the explosive payload of her Phase-Shifting. One of the Lance was carrying a sniper rifle- the very same sniper rifle that was lodged in his head and detonated inside his cranium to kill his allies with its explosion. Not one of them was ready for us and all were defeated at every turn as we made our way to the door. Angel made it to the door prior to me and hacked every security door in the compound and opened every door in it as well. She then turned into the open corridor that led to the deeper reaches of the underground bunker, firing a barrage of huge, elemental rockets into it. Walls and parts of the floor melted away as the powerful acid explosions from her Norfleet Launcher filled the halls and the sounds of dying foot soldiers echoed several meters ahead. She turned back to me and gestured for me to follow. I waved her on ahead while I cleared the fields of troops as to ensure that they could not locate our ship and strand us on this planet. The Lancemen came in droves and died in heaps as I removed their brains one after another with single rounds and lobotomized them with massive sniper bullets; either killing them or leaving them a mindless pile of pain as they bled out of the floor. Soon, none remained and I entered the door, holstering my rifle and pulling out my sword and attaching my Order shield. I followed the trail of acid and screams into an open room filled with green, writhing masses of death and armor rolled along the ground.

"Angel, how are you doing?" I asked telepathically, cutting down a trooper that attempted to surprise me.

"I'm doing fine, Honey… I'm almost to the Central Hub Computer… I should be… Damn It! Zero, I've been blocked… There's about twenty Badasses ahead and I just ran out of ammo… I have to fly over them and start Smiting… See you in a little bit…" she replied, her voice cheerful, as though it was a game to her… I didn't pay it much attention as I was getting attacked on all sides by a wave of about ten Lance women all dressed in tight-fitting armor and carrying blades. I smirked beneath my helmet and readied my blade. Two of them rushed me, allowing me to slice them in half without even swinging; I merely side stepped them as they approached. One then leaped up and tried a downward swing at my head, I easily blocked it and slid under her block and buried her own blade in her chest. I turned to the other seven and began to walk at them slowly. They took a step back with every one that I took toward them, their blades in defensive positions.

"Lower your weapons/ And you'll escape with your lives/ I'm done killing girls…" I said in a defeated voice. The one nearest to me lowered her swords and stepped towards me, removing her helmet. I nodded to her and she started sprinting toward the door, full speed. Five others did the same, only they sheathed their blades and followed their sister. The least armored of the group stood at the ready, her blades drawn and her eyes piercing with hatred.

"I'd rather die than live with such a defeat, _Phantom…_" she said, addressing me with an old name that I didn't care for.

"Leave! Before I kill you/ And you know I don't want to…/ Please… just let me pass…" I said, dropping my shoulders and flashing her a sad face emoticon. Just then, I deployed my decoy and side stepped her as she tried to lung at me. I pulled out my pistol and blew out her knee cap, forcing her to drop to the floor and clutch her bleeding leg. "I won't ask again…/ Leave now and you will survive…/ Please, Persephone…" I said in an even softer voice, kicking away her blades that she'd dropped as she fell. She squinted and lifted herself from the floor, beginning to hobble down the corridor. I watched her leave for several moments, remembering some old missions that I'd been on when I was with the Lance Assassin Squad. I quickly shook the memories away and I continued down the hall, redrawing my blade and now igniting my markings. Several standard Lance soldiers ambushed me and I used my Deception again, only this time, it was charged with kinetic energy and could strike back when hit. A Lanceman fired at the decoy and the bullets caused it to shutter, getting pushed to the ground. It lifted itself from the floor and cut one of the soldiers in half, but was then defeated by two others gunning it down. I then stabbed one through the spine and watched as they fell to the ground dead. My decoy sat, flickering as bullets passed through it and drew some of their attention away from their dead allies, however, many of them realized that it was a trick and searched for me. I then ran out of time in Deception and was focused by three Lance. I merely smiled beneath my helm and pointed gingerly to my decoy as it ignited in dark, blood red flames. It erupted in a kinetic blast that killed all of the Lance within five feet of it and rendered all the others unconscious. I was unharmed being as I surrounded myself in a kinetic barrier as soon as I became visible again. I walked on for another couple minutes, again being head off by a group of soldiers. I snarled in disappointment at them as they readied their weapons.

"Not a challenge…" I said in an annoyed tone, reaching out with my glowing hand and crushing their brains from within their own skulls and passed them by silently as their screams filled the halls and their grey-matter leaked from their armor and helmets. I pulled out a Kunai and buried it in one of the next wave's chest, preventing its explosion to confuse the enemies. They amassed around the struck soldier to inspect the knife; this is when I detonated it, causing it to explode in a huge, fiery explosion and killing all of them instantly. I continued on, stepping over their corpses and wiping my feet off on the floor as to remove the blood that I'd stepped in by accident. I displayed a frowny face as I wiped away the blood and continued. I eventually reached the corridor that Angel had been stopped at, coming to a stop next to her behind a large metal guard rail.

"Hey, Honey… How was your day?" she asked in a friendly voice, sitting up to lose a grenade into the crowd of Lancemen.

"Not bad…" I replied casually, lifting up and firing into the crowd with my Hawk Eye. Three of the soldiers ducked below cover just as I drew my rifle to my face plate to take aim. However, one unlucky soldier was not fast enough to duck and I fired a single bullet into his eye cover and watched as he dropped to the ground, lifeless. Seeing the others lingering behind cover, I lobbed a Slag Singularity Grenade that landed next to their cover and ripped them away, covering them in purple and black ooze and temporarily disorientating them. I took aim once again and took down the three slagged enemies without hesitation. I then turned to Angel and nodded at her, tossing her my Infinity Pistol from my Storage Deck. She winked at me and began to open fire on the horde of Lance ahead of us, dropping one of them and forcing the others behind cover out of the sheer amount of lead hurdling down-range. I took the chance to stand from cover and take careful aim at the targets. I let loose one cartridge after another, denting the cover with massive rounds from my Hunting Rifle before finally piercing it with huge slugs that could drop elephants. One after another, the Lance were reduced to writhing, bloody masses of paste and armor chunks, only leaving one left. The last remaining Lance soldier took a quick survey of his surroundings and just stood from cover with his rifle raised above his head. I pulled out my Hawk Eye yet again and aimed dead-center of his eye glass as he walked slowly toward us. He dropped to his knees and tossed his rifle far away after dropping its clip and kicking out the last slug. I then approached him and tied back his arms with a piece of steel that was sitting against the wall by the use of my Telekinesis. I removed his helmet and sat down in front of him silently. Angel approached him and kneeled down so her face was mere inches from his as she inspected him.

"Okay, Mister Lance man… You tell us where to find the main computer where all your records are held and we'll let you live and join up with your Assassin sisters that have already defected…" she said with a kind smile and light voice.

"Why would I tell you anything? I only surrendered because I saw it as a means to a quick and painless death!" he shouted, almost leaving spit on my Angel's face. I stood up and lifted him from the ground telekinetically and smashed him against a wall. I never said a word or flashed a single emoticon.

"Please tell us?... If you do… My Husband here won't have to crush every bone in your body into dust and force them to explode out of your eye sockets like a tube of toothpaste…" she said in a still playful voice. Had I not known her so well, she would have intimidated me with such a display...

My tattoos glowing, I approached him and withdrew my sward and began to make small incisions in his armor deep enough to brush his skin beneath.

"Alright! I'll tell you! Just please! Let me down!" the man pleaded, squirming against the metal hoop around his torso and legs. I lowered him as he asked and took a step back. "Okay… Just keep going that way…" he said nodding to the hallway on our left. "… Then type the code "Ask Jeeves" and the door will open and allow you access to the central console! Now please let me go…" he continued, his voice tapering off to a pitiful whine as he finished his explanation. I nodded; my tattoos glowed again and moved the metal at his legs up to tie tighter to his torso and allow him the use of his legs. He took off sprinting down the corridor that Angel and I had come from, crying like a small child.

"Impressive show…" I said quietly to her, walking alongside her as we continued on. She giggled and nudged me gently, taking the lead. I chuckled and followed her as she led us to the door. Strangely, no more Lance tried to stop us; as though this was a trap. I looked intently at Angel as she hacked the door terminal. A loud pinging resounded as what was supposed to have been an explosive deactivated and the door screeched open. We walked in and quickly turned around to the sounds of gunfire and insane laughter and shouting.

"Sounds like the gang's all here!" Angel whispered in a sultry voice, gazing at me with a soft smile.

"Indeed." I replied simply, turning to focus on the doorway. Lilith walked in and shifted on her hip, resting her SMG against her thigh.

"I guess we missed most of the fun!" she said in a slightly more playful voice than I'd ever heard from her before. I just displayed a smiley face and turned back to Angel as she began to work at the controls. Several moments pass as she works at the information banks.

"Yes! I found him! I found Roland!" Angel shouted with glee, looking to Lilith with a happy gaze. "I'm uploading the information from everything that the raiders and what you have on record into the memory profiles… This should only take a few moments, keep me protected for a little while… There are Lance coming from the east corridor…" she said in a distant tone as she uploaded the data. I reached into my Storage Deck and pulled out my stealth unit and handed it to Angel and nodded to her. She looked at it puzzled and put it on hesitantly before turning back to her work. She then immediately disappeared and only the sound of keys being pressed consecutively was indication to her presence. I readied my sword and stood at the ready as a loud humming and the sound of the Digistruct Network kicked into my senses, temporarily overshadowing the noises of combat in the doorway. I turned around to the sight of a large cylindrical device beginning to form a humanoid shape that was very slowly taking the shape of Roland. He dropped to his knees and coughed heavily before pushing himself to stand.

"Ugh… Z-Zero? What? Where am I? …Lilith? What's going on?" Lilith turned around to the voice of her love and her eyes tiered up with happiness as she practically forgot about the sounds of seemingly infinite droves of Lance coming to attack us.

"Ro-land?" she asked happily, her eyes filling to the brim with burning waters. She almost ran to him to kiss him fiercely when a stray bullet whizzed by her head, accompanied by Krieg shouting to us in the control room.

"Sorry, sweetheart! I'm not too good with guns!" Immediately following this statement, his voice echoed through the halls and the sound of Lancemen screaming in terror followed.

"Krieg! You son of a bitch! I'm trying to enjoy a moment and you fucked it up! Get better at killing things before I have to go out there and put you to shame!" Lilith shouted back, her eyes igniting into fiery orange and yellow hues.

"Uh… Were those Lance? Like Crimson Lance? Whe-where are we?" Roland asked confused, begging to look around, seeing my cloaking device shut off and reveal Angel at the keyboard, activating several contingency plans. She winked at him and tossed my device back to me and told me to go have fun. I flashed her a heart and dashed off into the fray. _'I wonder how easily he'll readapt to everything that has happened in his absence…'_ I thought to myself as I withdrew my blade and deceived in the midst of the combat, slicing away several waves of soldiers.

External Perspective.

"Angel, close the doors and give us some more privacy…" Lilith said in a soft voice. Angel complied, pressing several button sequences that closed the blast doors and set up a sound proof barrier around her and the console.

"Okay! What the hell! Isn't Angel dead!? We helped her commit suicide! Why is she here!?" Roland shouted, his eyes bugging out from his head slightly with frustration. His eyes widened even more as Lilith strode up to him and kissed him on the lips passionately, causing him to freeze in mid arm gesture. His arms instead slipped to her sides and held to her hips and his eyes closed. "Ah… Alright… You want me to shut up, I take it…" he said in a now calm voice. "…Well then… Let's go get in on some of the fun!" he said with a new found resolve and excitement. Lilith shook her head and pointed to the small device on her waist where her Storage Deck was and shook her head to Roland.

"Sorry, Babe… But we just got you back, and without one of these…" she said, pulling the contraption that Angel had commissioned before putting it back and continuing, "… We can't have you dying on the battlefield like last time…"

"Yeah… I guess you're right… Although… It seems that Angel spawned me with one of those already… along with this…" he replied, pulling out a Bearcat Pearlescent Combat Rifle. Lilith stammered at the sight of the rare weapon and huffed, punching the force field that surrounded Angel and the terminal. Roland them cocked the rifle and also knocked on Angel's protection, getting her attention; he pointed to the doors and gestured for her to open them. She smiled and pressed another sequence to override the locks. The doors slid open and revealed all of the team fighting against seemingly infinite waves of Crimson Lance soldiers, the team also seemingly having a good time doing so. Roland smiled and charged in, tossing his turret down next to Aston's and cracked a grin at the surprised commando before firing off several grenade rounds from his immensely overpowered firearm. Angel soon joined in, her shield taking round after round and only shaking slightly as she ignited into every elemental effect and began demolishing every enemy in her path, all without even releasing a single bullet. Roland then came across the man that had shouted back to Lilith while they were chatting in the control room. He looked like a psycho at first glance; but closer examination revealed that he was actually much more sane about his inherently insane movements. At first, Roland brought up his rifle and fired several rounds off into him, causing the man to recoil and look at him. Roland could not determine what his reaction was beyond what seemed to be a nod and the distortion of a grin under his mask before he continued his rampage, his form now on fire. Before long, all of the advancing Lance forces seemed to taper off to nothing and stopped coming to replace the fallen ranks. Axton threw down his Phalanx and called everyone over so they could speak without thinking about the fact that enemies could attack.

"Holy crap! I wasn't expecting to see you ready to fight so soon after re-spawning!" Axton shouted, his eyes wide as he shook Roland's hand.

"Yeah! I was expecting to have to drag your dead ass out of here by your ankles!" Mordecai said with a sobered chuckle. The small group laughed.

"Roland."

"Brick…" Roland replied, looking up to the Slab King with serious eyes. After several seemingly uncomfortable moments, the two pounded fists and nodded to one another.

"And kiss each other…" Gaige chimed in, giggling quietly.

"That's my line! And they better not! I've got plans for this man, and I would have to kill him off for another year if I found out he was gay now…" Lilith said with a lecherous smile.

"Ugh, Damn it, Lil, I didn't need that picture in my head! Not after going a full day without booze! …Ugh… That's just like nails on a chalkboard!" Mordecai replied in a voice deep with disgust. All the others laughed and looked to the (For once) sober sniper. Roland then turned to Angel and asked her a question that had been dancing across his mind ever since he'd been recreated.

"Hey… Why are you here? We watched you die back at the bunker, so how'd you get here?" he asked curiously. Angel just smiled at him and glanced over to Zero, blushing slightly. Roland wasn't exactly great at reading emotions but he'd had to have been a complete moron to miss a signal like that…

"Well… as for the living part… I used the New-U stations to fake my death… I then sought out the others to help with some information that I'd learned of after inheriting the Hyperion Company after Jack was killed… And if it wasn't for Zero here, no one would have trusted me to come back…" she said, clasping his hand and smiling up at the tall assassin as he displayed a heart emblem.

"So I guess it's safe to assume that the two of you are involved?" Roland asked rhetorically, smiling at the two. Angel's tattoos them began to turn pink and Zero's showed through his suit. Roland's eyes visibly widened and his mouth went slack for a moment.

"Oh! And Zero's also an Eridian… Sorry for leaving that out… And we're getting married…" Angel replied, her blush growing brighter.

"Most fortuitous/ For her to have chosen me…/ And love to have grown." Zero said simply, pulling Angel into his arms and pressing his helmet to her forehead, the same heart glowing brightly. Roland relaxed as he came to terms with the strange developments; before, that is, he saw Zero's skill in action… A Lanceman had broken into the Phalanx and grabbed Angel by the neck, putting a gun to her head. Her shield was still not recharged and could therefore take the hit, but Zero would never be able to forgive himself if another human ever hurt her… So in a flash of red and a slightly darker red that consisted of the Lanceman's head. He closed his hand into a fist and killed off a significant number of the man's brain cells and the man walked off, sputtering as he now called out for his mother. Roland just stared and stood motionless before Angel interrupted him with a playful voice.

"Stop staring at my man… He's mine. And besides… Lilith would tear you to pieces…" Roland chuckled and looked over to his now giggling love and old friend.

"So… All recent events aside, it's good to know that nothing much has really changed with you guys… And I can assume that I am going to have huge debts to repay to you and Angel…" Roland said with a slightly weak voice as he stared into Lilith's eyes. She just smirked menacingly at him and nodded her head. "…I thought as much… Alright gang… Let's get the hell off this planet!"

"First, you all need to know something… Zero and I allowed a few Lance to defect and come back to Pandora with us…" Angel chimed in, her cheeks turning red with embarrassment.

"That shouldn't be a problem… so long as they joined willingly…" Roland replied.

"We kinda sorta… Forced their surrender… Whether they actually come with us is still their choise…" Angel said with an even deeper blush.

"Even so… We just need to reason with them. So let's go catch up to them then…" Everyone nodded and followed Zero and Angel out through the corridor that they came in from. The group soon found the defeated Lance Assassins and the one Lance Badass that was seated next to the crippled soldier; their helmets all removed.

"So… You guys and girls are no longer affiliated with the Lance… Why don't you all come to Pandora with us and join the Crimson Raiders?" Roland asked with a bright smile, one that Lilith had not seen in ages. The assassins talked among themselves and eventually agreed; the Badass looked to the dirt and pondered to himself for a few moments before looking up to them with a tear in his eye.

"I'll only go if I can go with my wife…" he said in a determined voice. Just then, a whistle called from behind the group as the injured Assassin commander hobbled out of a hiding space in the hallway that led to the exit.

"You didn't think I would go out like that did you?" she asked the Badass as she hobbled into his arms, smiling.

"Then I will go…" the man said, holding her in his arms.

The mentally crippled man just shouted; "I wanna go play on the jungle gym, mama! Can I go play with Jerimy and his friends?" and stood up and hugged Maya around the waist. Everyone laughed and Maya began to hyperventilate out of surprise and confusion. Axton just placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a consoling wink. She calmed down after that, but not before punching him in the stomach and letting him fall to the ground in a heap of gasping pain. "Papa fall down!" the mentally hindered man shouted, pouncing onto the downed man that became his surrogate father. Everyone was now laughing hysterically and holding their sides, even the assassins were holding back giggles at the heart warming scene unfolding before them. Before long, they all walked back to their ship and began preparations to ascend from the planet and make their next plan of action.

End Chapter 16: Dropping in on old friends.


	17. THe Next New Beginning

Well… This story needs some more interest and intrigue… This is for all of you Roland and Lilith fans out there… And to everyone else, enjoy a little love and romance…

Chapter 17: The Next New Beginning. Begin.

Character Perspective; Zero.

All was as it should be and we had just finished off the fourth and final Atlas Stronghold on Promethia; leaving the undiscovered Vault that resided within undisturbed and safe. Angel and I were not required for this final assault as there was no need to even leave the cruiser; we simply stated our names and demanded that all Lance Soldiers and Assassins surrender immediately… They never even fired a single round and walked out of the base, their armors removed and their weapons unloaded and thrown into a pile. Roland piped over the loudspeaker to the newly unemployed soldiers.

"We realize that what we have just done to all of you is almost unforgivable, but we are not asking you to forgive us for stripping you all of your livelihoods; we are asking that you simply surrender yourselves to a peaceful existence here and help us to civilize this planet as we are trying to due back on Pandora… If you all help us to accomplish these goals, you will never again have to see us or any of the corporations again… Your new lives start now; the choice of how each and every one of you spends that new life is entirely up to you…" And with his address concluded, he shut off the speaker and we flew back to the first base that had been cleared as it now served as our temporary base while we stayed here.

Angel and I were relaxing in what used to the commander's office. It was almost surreal as to how we had laid claim to this respite in this dead station: Reflecting back on the event that granted us this outstanding gift filled me with unimaginable rage. I quickly dismissed this rage however, as I was simply remembering the details and overlooked the results.

Claiming it was no simple task as every one of us sought after it. Angel and I, however, possessed an unfair advantage… None of our challengers could use their guns in our presence as they were ineffective. Salvador realized this and immediately and angrily surrendered and resigned himself to the Men's Locker Room, trudging away from the challenge circle without so much as lifting a hostile finger- aside from the usual… Axton and Maya put up an outstanding fight and almost dropped me, before they realized that Angel's shield was allowed time to activate its fourth recharge. Maya reserved herself to Phase Locking Angel repeatedly as Axton tried desperately to finish me, his bullets all stopping in midair before hitting and dropping to the ground. I gathered up all of my strength and fired a single rocket at him, destroying his turret through its shield and leaving him defenseless. I released a single sniper cartridge from my rifle and hit him directly in the head, killing him instantly. Mata saw this and yielded, dropping to her knees. The only other worthy challenge was presented by the experienced couple of our rag-tag group; none other than Roland and Lilith… The older siren lunged at me, pushing me back with a huge wave of energy while Roland chucked out his turret and used it as cover. Huge slugs distorted Angel's shield before it finally yielded and she was forced to the ground by the hail of bullets burying in her soft, unprotected flesh. I immediately stood up, almost being knocked back down by a massive wave of elemental fury and Phase energy as Lilith Phase Walked out of space directly behind me. I weathered the force; however, as not even the world ending would stop me now. I regained my footing and Deceived; dodging Lilith's overcharged next attack. Fire had been burning at my flesh, leaving an unsettling smell in the air all around me that permeated the vents of my suit as they melted away, but this too, never broke my resolve as my steps grew faster. In only a second, my slow, deranged strides had changed into uncontrollable, lethal lunges. I took my first swing and cleaved Roland's turret in half, destroying it instantly. His eyes widened as my stealth flickered and he received a glimpse of my scorched face and burning eyes through a hole that had burned through my visor. I stared back him as I disappeared again. I then ran him through with my blade and watched as he bled. After several satisfying seconds of watching MY Angel's assailant bleed out on the floor, I redirected my attention to Lilith as her Phase Walk ended and my stealth timed out. I began to walk at her, my shoulders hunched and my blade at the ready. Her wings flared with flames and her eyes glowed a bright yellow and orange combination. My tattoos flair along with hers and we make our way closer and closer to each other, our strides becoming animalistic sprinting and our energies starting to slice at one another as the swirling forces collided. All that I could see and feel was the searing light and heat from the energy released as our burning powers combined and enveloped the training grounds in which we all were practicing. Our onlookers simply watched this event; then they were forced to cover their eyes and cower away from the scalding light. There was nothingness, and then I felt a severe pain in head and all along my body. I forced myself up from the ground and took several seconds to survey the area; there was nothing. All of my opponents had been defeated and no one remained in the arena with me; this realization caused my rage to well up again when I heard a happy, familiar voice pierce the anger and sooth away everything, as though it belonged to an angel and I was to ascend to heaven… Then I realized that it was the voice of MY Angel: Not that of a mere biblical angel, a being with some convoluted "Higher Purpose" but a real angel that could truly serve the world. I turned to see her racing toward me with her eyes gleaming with joy.

"Zero! You did it! We won!" she shouted, hugging me tightly with both arms as she kissed my burns with her soothing, soft lips; surprisingly, there was no pain.

As I remembered the interesting engagements among the others and Angel and I, a soft thumping was echoing through the halls outside of our room and gradually getting louder. I displayed a question mark and slowly approached the door, listening for several more seconds before I'd decided to open the door and take a look. To my surprise, outside our door stood the now mentally handicapped soldier that had shown a strange liking to Maya and Axton. His face was slickened with drool and his lips held a strange half-smile, as though he could not fully understand the gesture, which after what I'd done to his brain's internal workings, was entirely possible, and in fact, likely. As he stood, he teetered on his heels and toes, leaning forward and back in a repeating pattern as his arms shook slightly.

"Tall man and nice lady be my friend?" he asked with the same smile as his eyes locked onto the zero on my suit. I simply nodded and walked away from the door, leaving it open.

"Who is it, Honey?" Angel asked from the kitchen, looking out through the door leading to the room we now stood in. Her curious eyes widened at the sight of the man and she smiled slightly, walking to the fridge. "Would you like something to drink, young man?" Angel asked as she opened the door of the refrigerator, rifling through the drinks.

"I WANT APPLE JUICE!" the man shouted happily, his smile widening and his arms flying above his head. Angel smiled and pulled out a juice box and walked into the room handing it to him and sitting next to me on the couch. "Thanks, nice lady! I got go see mama 'bout playing with Papa and Scoot-Scoot! BYE!" he shouted, sucking the juice box dry and walking uneasily out of our room and down to the hall to Maya's and Axton's room, the door opening and slamming heavily as the man walked in. I released a sigh of confused frustration as I removed my helmet and rubbed the bridge of my nose to alleviate a headache that was yet to occur.

"It was a mistake leaving him in his current state… Should I end his existence?" I asked bleakly. Angel stared at me for a moment before slapping me hard across the side of the face.

"NO! He may not be exactly like everyone else, but he's happy! Let him be at least that!" she yelled, her eyes glowing with rage. My eyes widened with surprise and slight fear at her anger as I lifted my hands defensively and I tried to calm her down.

"I'm sorry… I didn't see a problem with it… But I see now that even though he barely functions like others, he is happy and that's all that matters; please forgive my ignorance..." I pleaded, softly taking hold of her hand. Her eyes softened and she leaned into an embrace as her rage subsided.

"Of course I forgive you; just remember what you learned here and you'll be able to avoid sleeping in the closet tonight…" she teased, her eyes adopting playfulness as she leaned in closer to me, her tattoos adopting a familiar pink glow. Her lips brushed over mine as she began speaking again. "And Besides… I don't like punishing you… It _hurts _me _so much more_ than it hurts you…" she said while her lips gently grazed over mine.

"Is that so?" I asked, slightly aroused by her insinuation.

"Yes… I hate not being with you… And I especially hate it when you lose your temper…" she whispered, her teeth grazing my lips in accompaniment of her soft lips.

"You're right… I can be… _Impulsive_…" I said in a soft voice, causing her to gasp in anticipation.

"And just how much _Impulse_ do you resist every day?" she asked as her eyes turned to a half lidded state and her breathing grew ragged and faster.

"More than you could handle…"

"Try me…" she challenged, hopping onto my lap and straddling my hips, giggling slightly. I kissed her passionately, my serpentine tongue twisting its way into her mouth and teasing hers.

I apologize for cutting the description of this escapade short, but I believe that you all have heard enough or our _adventures_ for a little while… Go listen to someone else's stories for a while; Angel is calling me on Echo and I do not want to have her wait any longer for her next treat…

Character Perspective: Roland.

I suppose that it was only fitting that I was immediately appointed to captain of our ship and granted use of the captain's quarters following my and Lilith's defeat at the hands of Zero and Angel… Those two are perfect for each other; in more ways than one… I never thought that man could be so compassionate and protective; let alone so quick to anger… He just snapped when I hurt Angel… I mean really snapped! I He was on fire and didn't even care! His armor was burned and melting on his skin and it didn't even slow him down! There was really nothing that could stop him except the death of whatever hurt her… He was unstoppable! And what he did to that lance the other day? *Shutters* Ugh… I never want to have to face him again for as long as I live! That shit was scary! How do you even do that to someone and not even think about it? He does feel emotions; I've seen the way he looks at Angel… But there was nothing in his eyes when he'd done that to the man… It's like she's the only thing that registers on his radar when it comes to emotions! I'm just happy that he's on our side!

I continued to think in this fashion for several more minutes before the sound of hydraulic hinges opening stirred me and forced me into total awareness. I turned to my door and saw the perfect frame of Lilith stride into my room and shut the door behind her.

"How's it going, _Fearless Leader_?" she asked, her tone adopting a sound of sarcastic playfulness.

"Not too bad, _Firehawk_, not too bad at all…" I replied, standing up from my chair and turning to completely face her. She sat down without hesitation on my bed and patted on it to convince me to sit next to her. I chuckled slightly and followed her silent instructions, taking my new place next to her.

"That's good to hear… I wouldn't want you to go about feeling uncomfortable when you've only been alive for less than a day…" she said in another, deeper, playful tone and leaning in closer to me.

I smiled lightly at her words and met her eyes with a similar playful gaze, causing her to form a very slight blush that she quickly dismissed and continued speaking in a sultry voice.

"Since when did you find a sense of humor?" she asked, leaning in slightly.

"Since you guys killed off Jack, managed to stop an apocalypse, take down a corporation _and_ bring me back from the dead…" I replied with a soft smile.

"Yeah, I get it; we're awesome… You don't need to say it…" she said with a soft giggle.

"Based on how you're reacting, I'd say I do; otherwise, you'd likely feed me to one of those Sand Worms I've heard so much about from Axton recently…" I replied, chuckling again.

"Got that right! We went through Hell and Brimstone just to kill off Jack without your sorry ass; Let alone to get that ass back! You better commend us!" she replied in mock-anger.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right… Sorry…. And speaking of commending, how would you like me to repay you personally?" I asked in feigned ignorance.

"I know you know what I want…" she replied, looking deep into my eyes before beginning to lean closer. Her lips almost touched mine when they stopped; a grin playing across her face. She leaned back and began to ignite her wings and eyes. "…So tell me… Ever experience a burn that you didn't mind getting?" she asked, reaching forward and igniting my black thermal shirt into a controlled burn. The shirt burned away from my body and the fire left me unscathed. I looked down and after several moments of inspecting my skin, looked back up into her still yellow and orange eyes. She just smirked and began to giggle slightly, reaching for my pants as well. I reached forward and stopped her hand.

"Even if you can control the fires, I don't want that part of my body that close to any type of open flame…"

"Not even mine, _Lover Boy_?" she asked, her face leaning in closer to have her lips brush against mine, causing me to grow motionless with emotions and a lack of thought. Her fiery wings disappeared and her eyes closed, adopting their natural color as our lips now completely connected.

I can say with certainty that she was very hot… In every sense of the word! Her form was enticing in ways that no one could match and her skin was hot to the touch… To this day, I wonder exactly how she could feel so warm and still… Hrm!... Sorry!

Her heated skin pressed to mine and I could feel her body heat still rising as our kiss grew more wild and animalistic. She leaned away again, sighing softly and igniting her hands again. She stood up and took several steps back from the bed to stand in the middle of the room as her wings came into sight and the flames engulfed her arms and burned away her sleeves and up her torso, continuing to her chest and burning until she stood before me without a single piece of clothing. I simply stared with pure amazement as to the fact that she could manipulate her fire in such a way that it could appear so elegant and refined. She was truly magnificent and the fact that her every inch was visible to my eyes was attesting to that very statement… Nothing about this woman was subpar… and everything… And I mean EVERYTHING about her was breath taking! All I could reason was that she was willingly offering herself to me without a single thought of even slowing down. Then a new thought popped into my head; if I don't act quickly, I'm going to have one, outrageously angry and sexy siren standing in front of me with the ability to pass through Dimensions and reappear wherever the hell she felt like, who could also manipulate fire… Yep. Definitely needed to act quickly!

I lurched forward and wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her into a tight hug, causing her flames to burn a clear white flame that spread painlessly to my entire body; burning away every inch of clothing that I had on my body- with the exception of my hat… I'd discarded that several moments ago; and I am thankful tor that… Her every movement was mind boggling to comprehend and her every touch offered a burning the likes of which I'd never experienced in my life! In the five years that she and I'd not kept in touch, she'd matured in ways that no one would ever have imagined. She pulled back just enough to look me in the eye and grin slightly.

"So how are you liking the fire now?" she asked as the flames heated every inch of my body.

"I… uh… have no… uh… idea what to say… so…" I stammered before pulling her into another kiss; I could then feel the burning grow stronger as her pulse began to increase and the orange glow behind her now closed eyelids grew brighter. Her tongue slithered into my mouth and my insides began to feel as though they were heating up from the inside out… To this day, I still have no idea how to fully describe that feeling… The faint taste of cherries filled my mouth; soon after being accompanied by the sensation of eating a very strong pepper, leaving me breathless as my tongue and throat burned pleasantly. In all that dry, powerful heat, one location of my body was not affected; the part that she was likely most interested in… The sensation of a wet, humid warmth instead preoccupied this region; forcing questions into my mind that were soon forgotten as she pushed me back and onto the bed. The heat subsided and the fire burned out; leaving me feeling incoherently cold all across my body. This feeling was soon replaced by the warmth of Lilith's body pressing to mine; warding off the cold and causing my body to heat up exponentially.

"And what about this heat? Any objections?" she asked in a pouting voice as she ground her hips into mine. My breathing seized as I felt her core drag softly against my length, allowing me to feel the same warmth as before. A heavy gasp clawed its way out of my throat at the sensation that her body had caused, eliciting a light giggle from her at my expense.

"Oh… Looks like it's almost time… You feeling up to _this_ mission, _Fearless Leader_?" she teased, sliding her hands to my chest and sliding lower down my body. At this statement, I felt a surge of vigor and flipped the two of us over, causing me to rub intensely against her and forcing a light moan from her lips.

"Burning as hot as you do, Lil, I'm surprised how cool you can act at a time like this…" I replied, further rubbing against her now throbbing core. Her once calm demeanor was replaced by desperate, choked sighs as she began to rub against me even harder; her body responding to every millimeter of touching flesh. Continuing my assault, I slid a hand up her body to one of her supple breasts, choosing one of her delicate nipples to excite. She released a groan and several sighs as she involuntarily lurched into the embrace and intensified the feeling before crashing back onto the bed, panting lustfully. The familiar fire slithered down her skin, starting at her markings, and rolled silently across the two of us and onto the bed. The heat permeated every pore of our bodies and intensified every sensation of the intimate feel of her tight, elegant skin pressed to mine. She shook violently before turning to the light switch on the far side of the room and launched out a ball of energy that impacted against the wall and forced down the switch without damaging anything. She looked back into my eyes with a new fiery glow and pulled her face forward to whisper into my ear.

"Roland, you Black Son of a Bitch; you keep teasing me like this and I… WILL… FRY… YOU!" she said in a commanding voice that sent shivers down my spine and caused my hair to stand on end. She leaned back onto the bed, her eyes a maelstrom of fire, lust, and siren energies.

"Right away, Ms. Firehawk…" I replied, rubbing myself against her one more time before beginning to lean away from her to align myself with her pleading core. I lingered for several seconds for confirmation when she leaned up again and kissed me passionately while pulling us back onto the bed and forcing me inside. In the kiss, as we crashed down on the soft bed, she released another gasp followed by a moan a breath later. Her every muscle contracted in that moment and her body wrapped around mine in a possessive display of acceptance as the burning inside her body melted away every thought that racked my usually nonstop mind; the storm of plans, strategies, and calculations cleared to a chaotic yet tranquil peace where my heart battled with my last remaining sensible thoughts for dominance. I pressed her down into the soft bed below us and began the maddening movement that she and I both craved; drawing out another burning moan and causing her whole body to quake at the sensation. The watery burn of her insides became the focus of my mind as I attempted to discover the singular point within her that would drive out every form of control that she possessed over her body. Slowly. Agonizingly slowly, I made repeating passes within her, testing out multiple places in the soft flesh to find the place that I'd hoped to excite. In only another three attempts, the place had been located and had immediately turned into the focus of my exploits; causing her powers to fully bloom and her body to phase out of existence for a fraction of a second. She returned only an instant after and screamed with enjoyment at the sensation that awaited her; her every nerve seemingly burning and her fiery eyes forming yellow flames of their own. I kissed her slowly; her burning form flashing out at every apex of my insertion and returning every instant I began to withdraw before phasing out yet again when I would come to stop at the end of the retracting motion. Every time that she'd phase out, her form would remain slightly visible and her tough would remain just forceful enough to prevent us from accidently joining when she returned. Her insides would spasm every time I would begin the retracting and penetrating motion and her form rematerialized before me. No words were, or could be said between the two of us as the throes of passion were too great and our vocal cords would seize up with intense feeling. Our slow pace made everything else around the two of us seem almost as though it were at a stand-still and nothing existed aside from us and the pleasure that was being forged between us. Lilith's wings flickered to life behind her with every moment that her body crossed into the new reality and faded away when she'd return; however, every time that she'd phase away, the duration of the departure would increase. She grew closer to her inevitable release, her jumps lengthened and her wings grew brighter as her flames began to lick at the ceiling and spill over the edges of the bed; still leaving no trace of their existence. With one, powerful burst of energy, her body completely disappeared into the other realm momentarily before snapping back with an echoing explosion and her voice weakly filling the air while I released as well. A thin sheen of violet seeped from one of her eyes and her tattoos turned white as she fell to the bed, completely motionless and panting heavily. I leaned forward to kiss her on the neck as she fell with her head resting against the soft bed, her eyes distant and her tattoos fading back to normal. I rolled over to drop onto the bed beside her and snaked an arm under her lower back and pull her close as I drag an unused sheet over the two of us. She weakly turned to face me and smiled with a soft, caring expression and half-lidded eyes.

"I love you…" she said calmly, forcing herself forward into a tight embrace against my chest and curling up into an almost fetal position; her eyes still listlessly trained up to mine.

"I love you too, Lil… Happy to be back." I replied, pulling her tighter to me and allowing sleep to overtake me. That night, my only dream was a seemingly unending moment of having her pressed to me and stroking her hair as she gazed lovingly into my eyes with a soft smile.

End Chapter 17: The Next New Beginning.


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